I Fail, Therefore I Can: Failure Mindset and Self-Efficacy in Early Adolescence

• In Event: Growth-Oriented Responses to Failure and Challenge

Abstract

Adolescents’ beliefs about failure (i.e., failure mindset) may influence the way they perceive efficacy-relevant information. Therefore, the purpose of this study was to examine how adolescents’ failure mindset is related to robotics self-efficacy development. STEM campers (N = 237) rated their failure mindset and answered open-ended questions about what had raised or lowered their confidence in robotics. Mixed methods revealed that although some confidence boosting sources (e.g., prior exposure) and confidence lowering sources (e.g., failures) were common across failure mindsets, there were also differences between the failure mindset groups. These differences and classroom implications are discussed. Findings from this study suggest that failure mindset does influence the information that early adolescents’ pay attention to when forming their confidence in robotics.

Authors

• Calah J. Ford, University of Kentucky

• Margaret J. Mohr-Schroeder, Kansas State University

• Ellen L. Usher, Mayo Clinic