Greater faculty mentor brilliance beliefs predict lower science identity in first-generation college student researchers

Students who are the first in their family to go to college represent an essential pool of STEM talent, yet they are often underrepresented in STEM fields. In this study, we examined how faculty research mentors' beliefs about whether brilliance is required for success (brilliance beliefs) shape students' beliefs about who is allowed to be successful in STEM and, in turn, the extent to which they see science as an important part of who they are. Data from 3 universities involving 117 faculty mentors and 670 student researchers demonstrated that first-generation college students working with faculty mentors who held lesser brilliance beliefs expressed broader views about who can be successful in STEM and subsequently identified more as scientists three months later. Further, the more students identified as scientists the more they reported commitment to pursuing STEM careers. There were not statistically significant relationships between faculty brilliance beliefs and continuing-generation students' beliefs about who can be successful in STEM nor their science identity. These findings indicate that within faculty-led research labs - where participation is essential for STEM career advancement - faculty beliefs about who can participate and be successful in STEM can either undermine or promote equitable opportunities for first-generation college students to develop an identity in science that would motivate long-term STEM persistence.