Modeling Growth Mindset: How Parental Involvement Benefits Student Cognitive Development
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Saint Mary's College of California Saint Mary's Digital Commons MATL Action Research Projects Spring 2020 Modeling Growth Mindset: How Parental Involvement Benefits Student Cognitive Development Stacey Navarro Saint Mary's College of California Follow this and additional works at: https://digitalcommons.stmarys-ca.edu/matl-action-research Part of the Educational Leadership Commons, and the Teacher Education and Professional Development Commons Recommended Citation Navarro, Stacey, "Modeling Growth Mindset: How Parental Involvement Benefits Student Cognitive Development" (2020). MATL Action Research Projects. 1. https://digitalcommons.stmarys-ca.edu/matl-action-research/1 This Thesis is brought to you for free and open access by Saint Mary's Digital Commons. It has been accepted for inclusion in MATL Action Research Projects by an authorized administrator of Saint Mary's Digital Commons. For more information, please contact [email protected]. Modeling Growth Mindset: How Parental Involvement Benefits Student Cognitive Development An Action Research Project Presented to The Faculty of the Kalmanovitz School of Education Saint Mary’s College of California In Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements for the Degree Master of Arts in Teaching Leadership By Stacey Navarro Spring 2020 Copyright © 2020 by Stacey Navarro All Rights Reserved This action research project, written under the direction of the candidate’s master’s project advisory committee and approved by members of the committee, has been presented to and accepted by the faculty of the Kalmanovitz School of Education, in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the Master of Arts in Teaching Leadership degree. ______________________________________ __________________ Candidate: Stacey Navarro Date Master’s Action Research Project Advisory Committee: ______________________________________ __________________ Research Advisor: Margaret Coughlan, Ed.D. Date ______________________________________ __________________ Faculty Advisor: Heidimarie, Rambo, Ph.D. Date ______________________________________ __________________ Program Director: Heidimarie Rambo, Ph.D. Date ______________________________________ __________________ Dean: Carol Ann Gittens, Ph.D. Date Abstract Modeling Growth Mindset: How Parental Involvement Benefits Student Cognitive Development By Stacey Navarro Physical Education Saint Mary’s College of California, 2020 Dr. Margaret Coughlan, Research Advisor Student support in school and beyond is essential. This action research study asked parents to model growth mindset language at home with their child in connection with their learning and their approach to running in physical education. Previous research indicates two relevant problems facing students during the middle school age. First, mental health disorders start in youth and can continue into adulthood (Polanczyk, Salum, Sugaya, Caye, & Rohde, 2015). Second, girl-identified learners experience inequity in sports which negatively impacts their mental health and academic success (National College Athletic Association, n.d.; Toporek, 2015). Over eight weeks, data were collected from parent surveys, student journals and reflections, and teacher-researcher field notes. The triangulation of data sources and analyses led to conclusions that 1) parent involvement with their child’s learning in physical education increased through the use of modeling growth mindset language at home and 2) children’s communication also increased. Dedication To my husband. For your patience and feedback in reading my drafts and talking through my ideas and research with me. And, above all, your love and support for me throughout the year, making it possible to have and raise our newborn son while attending graduate school. In loving memory of my mom, who passed away a few weeks before I completed my master’s degree. You always gave me the strength to do more than what seemed possible. Acknowledgements First, thank you to my wonderful cohort. Although we were small, we were mighty. We were vulnerable together, supportive of one another professionally and personally, and had many great discussions. To my amazing professors who pushed me to learn more about who I am and take action to make the impact I want to have as a teacher leader. And for supporting my ideas. Thank you, Dr. Lane, for your passion and dedication to us, your energy and enthusiasm are contagious. To my faculty advisor, Dr. Rambo, thank you for you detailed and thoughtful feedback with my project and writing. Learning from you has been inspirational to grow as a teacher leader. Lastly, to my research advisor, Margaret Coughlan, who shared many hours with me discussing my project, reading and providing feedback, and impressing me with how involved you are as a leader in education, from elementary to graduate school. Thank you for your support and dedication to strengthening me as a teacher leader. Table of Contents Page List of Figures .............................................................................................................................. viii List of Tables ................................................................................................................................. ix Chapter I. Introduction ......................................................................................................................1 Statement of the Problem .........................................................................................3 Purpose of the Research ...........................................................................................7 Action Research Question ........................................................................................9 Limitations .............................................................................................................10 Positionality of Researcher ....................................................................................10 Definitions of Terms ..............................................................................................12 Implications ............................................................................................................14 II. Literature Review ..........................................................................................................15 Overview of the Literature Review ........................................................................15 Theoretical Rationale .............................................................................................16 Review of Related Research ..................................................................................23 Summary ................................................................................................................45 III. Methods ........................................................................................................................48 Setting ....................................................................................................................49 Demographics of the Classroom ............................................................................51 Data Collection Strategies ......................................................................................52 Procedures ..............................................................................................................59 Plan for Data Analysis ...........................................................................................67 Summary ................................................................................................................69 IV. Findings .......................................................................................................................71 Overview of Methods and Data Collection ...........................................................73 Demographics of the Participants ..........................................................................73 Analysis of Parent Involvement surveys ................................................................74 Analysis of Student Perspectives ...........................................................................81 Analysis of Researcher Field Notes .......................................................................87 Summary ................................................................................................................89 V. Conclusions and Next Steps ..........................................................................................91 Summary of Findings .............................................................................................93 vii Interpretation of Findings ......................................................................................99 Reflection on Limitations ....................................................................................105 Plan for Future Action .........................................................................................107 Summary ..............................................................................................................109 References ....................................................................................................................................111 Appendices ...................................................................................................................................117 A. Parent PE Involvement Survey (pre-/ post-) .........................................................118