Abstract
BackgroundThe ability to navigate obstacles and embrace iteration following failure is a hallmark of a scientific disposition and is hypothesized to increase students’ persistence in science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM). However, this ability is often not explicitly explored or addressed by STEM instructors. Recent collective interest brought together STEM instructors, psychologists, and education researchers through the National Science Foundation (NSF) research collaborative Factors affecting Learning, Attitudes, and Mindsets in Education network (FLAMEnet) to investigate intrapersonal elements (e.g., individual differences, affect, motivation) that may influence students’ STEM persistence. One such element is fear of failure (FF), a complex interplay of emotion and cognition occurring when a student believes they may not be able to meet the needs of an achievement context. A validated measure for assessing FF, the Performance Failure Appraisal Inventory (PFAI) exists in the psychological literature. However, this measure was validated in community, athletic, and general undergraduate samples, which may not accurately reflect the motivations, experiences, and diversity of undergraduate STEM students. Given the potential role of FF in STEM student persistence and motivation, we felt it important to determine if this measure accurately assessed FF for STEM undergraduates, and if not, how we could improve upon or adapt it for this purpose.ResultsUsing exploratory and confirmatory factor analysis and cognitive interviews, we re-validated the PFAI with a sample of undergraduates enrolled in STEM courses, primarily introductory biology and chemistry. Results indicate that a modified 15-item four-factor structure is more appropriate for assessing levels of FF in STEM students, particularly among those from groups underrepresented in STEM.ConclusionsIn addition to presenting an alternate factor structure, our data suggest that using the original form of the PFAI measure may significantly misrepresent levels of FF in the STEM context. This paper details our collaborative validation process and discusses implications of the results for choosing, using, and interpreting psychological assessment tools within STEM undergraduate populations.
Highlights
The ability to navigate obstacles and embrace an iterative process in response to failure is considered a hallmark of the scientific disposition and has been hypothesized to increase students’ persistence in STEM (Harsh et al 2011; Laursen et al 2010; Lopatto et al 2008; Simpson and Maltese 2017; Thiry et al 2012)
Missingness To confirm that the intentional patterns of missingness created as part of our planned missingness design (Little 2013; Little and Rhemtulla 2013; Rhemtulla & Little 2013) are missing completely at random (MCAR), Little’s MCAR Test (Little 1988) was computed
Preliminary analyses indicated that students in our sample reported relatively low levels of fear of failure (FF), with dimension averages ranging from 1.46 (SE = .030; Fear of Shame and Embarrassment (FSE)) to 3.30 (SE = 0.30; Fear of an Uncertain Future (FUF)) on a 5-point scale where higher scores indicate more FF
Summary
The ability to navigate obstacles and embrace an iterative process in response to failure is considered a hallmark of the scientific disposition and has been hypothesized to increase students’ persistence in STEM (Harsh et al 2011; Laursen et al 2010; Lopatto et al 2008; Simpson and Maltese 2017; Thiry et al 2012). Recent collective interest brought together STEM instructors, psychologists, and education researchers through the National Science Foundation (NSF) research collaborative Factors affecting Learning, Attitudes, and Mindsets in Education network (FLAMEnet) to investigate intrapersonal elements (e.g., individual differences, affect, motivation) that may influence students’ STEM persistence. One such element is fear of failure (FF), a complex interplay of emotion and cognition occurring when a student believes they may not be able to meet the needs of an achievement context. Given the potential role of FF in STEM student persistence and motivation, we felt it important to determine if this measure accurately assessed FF for STEM undergraduates, and if not, how we could improve upon or adapt it for this purpose
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