Dataset Einstein Worked his Socks off Conceptions of Intelligence

Abstract

There is vast amount of research that links implicit theories of intelligence with several learning-relevant variables in both learners and teachers alike. However, there is a gap in the literature, as there is almost no research done with university teachers. Furthermore, most scientific research polarizes incremental and fixed views of intelligence in spite of data that show there is heterogeneity in participants’ views. This study explores the implicit theories of intelligence of university teachers. The sample comprised 20 university teachers (10 men and 10 women) from the University of Seville. Four participants were selected from each field of knowledge, according to the category system in place at the university in question, namely: Arts and Humanities (A&H), Sciences (S), Health Sciences (HS), Social and Legal Sciences (S&LS), and Engineering and Architecture (E&A). Also, the selection process ensured that half the participants had less than 15 years' teaching experience at the university and the other half more than 15 years' experience. A semi-structured interview called "Views on Intelligence within the Educational Field" was designed. Participants were asked to express their opinión about several small vignettes regarding intelligence. The instrument comprises short cases or vignettes, highlighting different dimensions of intelligence. We identified 12 relevant dimensions in which a view on intelligence could be expressed and contextualized. They were: Control, Heredity, Effort, Culture, Training, Critical Period, Context, Expectations, Associated Qualities, People, Gender, and Diversity of Intelligence. Data from interviews were analysed employing a category system designed to capture heterogeneity. The utterances were segmented and analyzed using a coding manual. From the units of meaning extracted from the participant’s responses, we constructed 116 different categories related to intelligence. These categories were later organized into 18 different topics, as several themes arose from the interviews. These topics were: Effort, Genetic Influence, Development in Non-Specific Terms, Global Environment, Formal Education, Culture, Activities, Teacher Influence, Parental Influence, Developmental Characteristics, Motivational and Emotional Influence, Others’ Expectations Influence, Own Expectations Influence, Other Personal Characteristics Influence, Characteristics Associated to Intelligent People, Gender, Presence of Intelligence in Activities Outside Academic Fields, and Social and Emotional Intelligence. Finally, an upper-level hierarchical categorization was developed, where different categories were put together taking into account different criteria in order to obtain global results. These categories are Global Influences of Change (all categories that relate to modifiability of the intelligence), Specific Influences of Change (all categories that expresses the relation of something specific on intelligence), Non-Specific Influences of Change (all categories that expresses that intelligence can or cannot be modified, but not telling how), Individual Influences of Change (all categories related to the individual’s actions and characteristics linked to intelligence malleability), Environmental Influences of Change (all categories related to the environment that may or may not affect the development of intelligence), and Total Genetic Influence (all categories related to genetic influence).