Contexts that Emphasize Brilliance as Necessary for Success Can Undermine Equity: The Brilliance-Belonging Model

• In Event: How to Create Environments of Belonging for Students: New Perspectives on School Belonging Research

Abstract

As societies worldwide grapple with substantial educational inequities, understanding the causes of these inequities is a priority. Here, we introduce the Brilliance–Belonging Model, a novel theoretical framework that illuminates how cultural beliefs about intellectual ability give rise to educational inequities from the earliest stages of schooling by undermining certain students’ perceived fit and belonging with certain educational contexts. At the heart of the model are two types of widespread cultural beliefs about intellectual ability: field-specific ability beliefs (FABs) and brilliance stereotypes. FABs are cultural beliefs about the extent to which success in an educational context requires exceptional intellectual ability or “brilliance” (e.g., math more so than language). Brilliance stereotypes are cultural beliefs that associate exceptional intellectual ability with some groups more than others (e.g., individuals from high vs. low socioeconomic status backgrounds). According to the Brilliance-Belonging Model, students from groups targeted by negative brilliance stereotypes are perceived—by themselves and others—as not belonging in contexts with brilliance-oriented FABs. In turn, these perceptions of misfit trigger a cascade of adverse effects (e.g., higher anxiety, lower self-efficacy, disempowering treatment by others) that hold these students back, explaining their lower well-being, achievement, and representation in contexts with brilliance-oriented FABs. The present model spells out the mechanisms that underlie the negative effects of brilliance-oriented FABs and brilliance stereotypes on educational equity. By doing so, it also provides a roadmap for intervention approaches aimed at fostering a sustained sense of belonging among diverse students and, as a result, more equitable outcomes.

Authors

• Christina Bauer, University of Vienna

• Aashna Poddar, New York University

• Eddie Brummelman, University of Amsterdam

• Andrei Cimpian, New York University