1. CHANGING MINDSETS PERSPECTIVES: ADDRESSING INEQUALITIES AND
CREATING INCLUSION THROUGH
STAFF AND STUDENTS IN PARTNERSHIP
Dr Jessica Gagnon, Senior Research Fellow
Arif Mahmud, Senior Research Associate
Amber Mathurin, UPSU Vice President Activities

2. SESSION OVERVIEW Project Overview (5 minutes) About the Project
Gaps by the Numbers
Mindset Theory (10 minutes)
Intervention delivery
Preliminary findings
Small group discussion (10 minutes)
Full group discussion (15 minutes)

3. ABOUT THE PROJECT
Changing Mindsets is a student and staff workshop-based intervention that builds a growth mindset: the belief that ability develops through effort and by embracing challenge (Dweck, 2017).
Initially developed at the University of Portsmouth in 2012 by Professor Sherria Hoskins, the intervention aims to close the attainment gap in student experience, retention, progression, academic attainment and employability by changing mindsets and eroding stereotype threat (Steele, 1997) and implicit bias (Devine et al, 2012) as barriers to learning.

4. PROJECT FUNDER
PROJECT PARTNERSHIP

5. NATIONAL GAPS BY THE NUMBERS
Home/EU BME students are 15% less likely to receive a 1st or a 2:1 to compared to Home/EU White peers (ECU, 2017).
Students from the least advantaged backgrounds are 14% less likely to receive a 1st or a 2:1 to compared to students from more advantaged backgrounds (Mountford-Zimdars et al, 2015).
Black students are 50% more likely to withdraw from university in England than their White and Asian peers (UPP, 2017).
8.8% of students from low socio-economic backgrounds withdraw from university compared with less than 5% withdrawal rates among students from the most advantaged backgrounds (OFFA, 2017).
More Gaps by the Numbers:

6. GAPS AT THE UNIVERSITY OF PORTSMOUTH
Attainment gaps: The gap between home/UK White students and home/UK BME students being awarded a ‘good degree’ (a 1st or 2:1) was 14.4% (Ross, 2018:35).
Attainment gaps: The differences in attainment between students from low participation neighbourhoods (White 80%, BME 72%), and students not from low participation neighbourhoods (White 83%, BME 67%), were not statistically significant (Ross, 2018:35).
Progression rates: For both White and BME students, a higher proportion of students from low participation neighbourhoods progressed successfully, compared to students not from low participation neighbourhoods (Ross, 2018:21).
Withdrawal rates: White students accounted for 7.5% of withdrawals. Within the BME category, the withdrawal rate ranged from a low of 3.8% (Chinese) to a high of 12.9% (Black) (Ross, 2018:27).
Ross, J. (2018). Equality & Diversity Student Data Report 2016/17. Available at:

7. We all have different implicit theories of intelligence (mindsets)
WHAT IS MINDSET THEORY?
FIXED MINDSET
GROWTH MINDSET
Believe intelligence is something you are born with and that you can’t do much to change it
Believe intelligence is malleable and can be developed through hard work and persistence
We all have different implicit theories of intelligence (mindsets)

8. WHAT IS MINDSET THEORY? Growth Mindsets
I can continually grow, learn and develop
Fixed Mindsets
I am (not) talented/ it’s difficult learning outside my comfort zone

9. MINDSETS AND APPROACHES TO LEARNING
Learning is focused on improvement and interest
Learning is focused on performance and ‘looking clever’
Mistakes are part of the learning process and information to grow
Mistakes are embarrassing and a sign of low ability (avoidant behaviour)
Challenges are welcome and offer sense of achievement
Challenges are risks and can lead to feelings of failure
Effort is necessary and part of the process – will change strategies
Effort is a sign of low ability and will disengage.

10. WHAT NUMBER COMES NEXT?
10, 9, 60, 90, 70, 66

11. EVIDENCE FROM NEUROSCIENCE
Neurones in the brain transmit information through connections (synapses)
The more we keep our brains active through learning new information, the more connections the brain makes
Research out of UCL with London taxi drivers
Brain scans = larger hippocampus
Grew as they spent more time in the job
Suggests brain adapts to help them learn ‘The Knowledge’ and store mental maps

12. GROWTH MINDSET APPROACH TO LEARNING
Research studies have shown that a growth mindset:
Increases attainment (Blackwell, Trzesniewski & Dweck, 2007; Paunesku, Goldman & Dweck, 2011)
Increases effort (Ericsson, Krampe, & Tesch-Romer, 1993)
Improves students’ motivation (Dweck, 2014)
Supress stereotype effects (Good, Aronson & Inzlicht, 2003)
It’s not all about the students (see Johnson & Beach, 2012; Karkkainen & Raty, 2010; Karkkainen, Raty & Kasanen, 2010; Shim et al., 2013)

13. INTERVENTION AT UOP
School of Pharmacy: Part of scheduled tutorial programme; content delivered by Changing Mindsets team; at least one Pharmacy lecturer present
School of Computing: Part of scheduled tutorial programme; content delivered by Computing lecturer; Changing Mindsets team attended
School of Law: First attempt: Extra curricular sessions delivered by Changing Mindsets team; Second attempt: Some content embedded into curriculum by lecturers; Some content delivered within lecture session by Changing Mindsets team
School of Engineering: Part of scheduled tutorial programme; content delivered by Changing Mindsets team; no Engineering staff present

14. INITIAL FINDINGS
Across the partnership, we have collected 5 years worth of pre-cohort data, including qualifications on entry, withdrawal rates, and attainment data.
So far for Cohort 1, we have collected surveys from 1134 first-year undergraduate students and 230 staff members from across the partnership. Additionally, 50 interviews with students and staffs have been completed.
Within the survey data for both staff and students we found statistically significant positive correlations between growth mindsets and creating inclusion and overcoming bias and statistically significant negative correlations between growth mindsets and stereotype beliefs.
On the contrary, for both staff and students, we found statistically significant negative correlations between fixed mindsets and creating inclusion and overcoming bias, yet statistically significant positive correlations between fixed mindsets and stereotype beliefs.

15. Pre-cohort data 2012-2016 School A
22.6% attainment gap between White and BME students
4.5% attainment gap between Quintile 1 and Quintiles 2-5 students
School B
10.2% attainment gap between White and BME students
4% attainment gap between Quintile 1 and Quintiles 2-5 students
School C
32.7% attainment gap between White and BME students
12% attainment gap between Quintile 1 and Quintiles 2-5 students
School D 3.3% attainment gap between White and BME students
1% attainment gap between Quintile 1 and Quintiles 2-5 students

16. QUALITATIVE DATA
“I’m starting to, to think about the way I study and the way I manage my time to become more open, like, to change my habits…I’ve done some extra reading about that kind of ideology outside.”
“I’d say because I have a routine now I actually am doing what I need to do when I do it. I think that started by organising what I should be doing, rather than just saying, ‘oh I should study my, like, like, chemistry or something’ breaking it down into ‘I should study it this morning or by tomorrow evening I’ll study this particular thing’ and managing it like that has helped me a lot.” – Asher
“I mean I had fun and, I liked it because, for example, the stereotype one, I’ve never thought about it, I’ve never thought that I might have these. So when you touched on it, I’m like, mm, worth thinking about it. So yeah, I liked them.” - Alisha

17. DISCUSSION
What does it mean for staff and students to be in partnership? What should that partnership look like?
How are staff already engaging students in partnership to improve student experiences and outcomes? What examples of best practices can you give from your school?
What else do you think could be done within your school, within the faculty, within the university, to engage students in partnership to improve student experiences and outcomes? (Thinking about the whole student experience -- from recruitment, application, and pre-entry through to post-graduation and further study or employment)

18. Thank you!
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