Date

Spring 2019

Document Type

Capstone Project (Open Access)

Degree Name

Master of Arts (M.A.)

Department

Teacher Education

Abstract

The California State University (CSU) system has a lower four-year graduation rate for freshmen students compared to the national average (i.e., 16.2% for the CSU and 39.8% nationally). It is crucial to provide services to students within the CSU system, particularly for those from underrepresented backgrounds to improve graduation rates and close the achievement gap. Research shows that academic confidence and self-efficacy play a key role in promoting student success. Living learning communities (LLCs) generate academic confidence through a sense of social belonging, but students must also believe in their own ability to succeed. The purpose of this quantitative, quasi-experimental pretest/posttest study was to investigate the effects of an online mindsetintervention implemented to encourage current LLC students to achieve a greater sense of self-efficacy, and ultimately help them achieve academic success. Participants (n=33) were purposefully selected from a large first-year LLC with a diverse student body. Self-efficacy was measured via pretest and posttest using the Self-Efficacy Formative Questionnaire. Results indicated no statistical difference upon completion of the intervention, however, the mean scores of both the treatment and control groups experienced reductions from the pretest to the posttest. Further research should expand on the mindset intervention to include analysis of student grade point averages and utilize a more engrained approach to conduct the intervention.

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