The Academic Mindset Study

Data Collection Complete

Overview

The AMS is the first EENE study, and it focuses students’ academic mindset. This term, coined by Farrington (2013) and popularized by Chew and Cerbin (2021), refers to a bundle of four related attitudes that are thought to be important for student success: sense of belonging, self-efficacy, growth mindset, and the perceived relevance of course material.

In Spring and Fall 2024, we surveyed students in a wide range of economics courses around the world at the start and end of the academic term, while instructors provided information about their own mindset and pedagogy. We analyzed this data to learn what student, course, and instructor characteristics predict academic mindset, and understand how academic mindset evolves during the term.

Interested in learning more about this project? Contact Brandon Sheridan.

Papers in Progress

• “Measuring Academic Mindset in Economics Courses” (Abstract)

• “Evolution of Academic Mindset During Economics Courses” (Abstract)

• “Academic Mindset in Economics: An International Comparison” (Abstract)

Conference Presentations

• Cortinhas, Carlos, Jana Sadeh, Brandon Sheridan, Emily Marshall, Douglas McKee, Vidya Balaji, “Academic Mindset in Economics Courses Outside the US Context.” Conference on Teaching and Research in Economic Education, May 2025.

• Sheridan, Brandon, Douglas McKee, Emily Marshall, Vidya Balaji, and George Orlov, “How Does Academic Mindset Change During the Semester?” Conference on Teaching and Research in Economic Education, May 2025.

• Douglas McKee, George Orlov, Brandon Sheridan, Emily Marshall, and William Goffe, “How Academic Mindset Evolves during Economics Courses.” Southern Economics Association, November 2024.