Ronald
E. McNair Post-Baccalaureate Achievement Program

McNair is a
federal TRIO
program funded at 194 institutions across the United States and Puerto
Rico by the U.S. Department of Education in honor of Ronald
E.
McNair, the astronaut killed aboard the U.S. Challenger space
shuttle. Dr. McNair excelled in academics and because of his many
achievements the program was created to prepare underrepresented
(minority, first generation, or low-income) undergraduate students for
doctoral studies through research involvement and scholarly activities.
The McNair program aims to increase the amount of graduate degrees
awarded to those students who identify with an underrepresented group
within our society.
McNair scholar's work with a professor of their choice over the summer
on a research project, complete a research paper, poster, and
PowerPoint which is presented at a conference and the University of
Arizona's Ronald E. McNair Achievement Program Colloquia. More
information can be found at http://grad.arizona.edu/mcnair/
Top Ten Things
McNair Did for Me:
- Introduced me to a great cultural lab
ran by Prof. Stephanie
Fryberg, PhD that led to me being a published undergrad :)
- Prepared me for graduate school in
every way possible! Admission
process, application process, funding, personal statement, etc.
- Helped me to complete the GRE
- Gave me 9 life-long friends
- Research experience
- Presentation and speaking skills
- Confidence that I'm a great student
that can do anything!
- Made me a scholar
- A body of research I can use for life
- A loving, caring, and
supportive academic family
18th
Annual
California
McNair Symposium: Berkeley, California
Annual Graduate College Summer
Research Conference 2010
Poster
showcased
my research: " Color
Me Bad": The Role of an Entity Theory of Intelligence in Prediciting
Disruptive Classroom Behavior for Ethnic Minority Students.
My friend and fellow
McNair schloar Fatemma with her
research poster: “Reflecting Back on
My
Education”: The Educational
Narratives of Mexican-
American Female College Students
My Research...
Abstract From Color Me Bad: The Role
of an Entity Theory of Intelligence in Prediciting Disruptive Classroom
Behavior for Ethnic Minority Students
Past research shows that endorsing an entity
theory of intelligence, a belief that intelligence is a “fixed” trait,
is
related to decreased academic performance (Henderson & Dweck,
1990). The
belief that one’s intellectual ability is fixed coupled with the
persistent
negative stereotype that one’s social group is intellectually inferior,
a
stereotype that ethnic minority students (e.g., Native American,
African
American, Latino American) often confront in the academic domain
(Steele,
1997), may encourage ethnic minority
students to perceive themselves as not “good” students. This negative
self-perception, in turn, may lead to disruptive classroom behavior
(i.e.,
throwing temper tantrums, talking back, or bullying) that further
undermines
academic performance. The present study examines the role that an
entity
orientation plays in predicting disruptive classroom behavior for
ethnic
minority students. Ethnic minority (N=73) and European American (N=19)
elementary school students (grades 3-5) completed measures of entity
orientation
(Dweck, 1999). Teachers completed the Child Behavior Checklist
(Achenbach,
1992) for each student. Analyses
revealed that ethnic minority students reported higher entity
orientation than
European American students, but groups did not differ in terms of
disruptive
behavior. Moreover, higher entity scores were related to more
disruptive
classroom behavior for ethnic minority students, but not for European
American
students. These findings suggest that endorsing a fixed belief about
intelligence negatively impacts classroom behavior for students who
encounter
negative stereotypes about their intelligence in the academic domain.