As a student grows up, the group they belong to becomes very important. This affiliation begins to define them strongly and influence what characteristics they attribute to themselves. American research[1] shows the importance of what group identity we emphasise at a given moment. Asian girls did more maths problems correctly when researchers recalled the positive stereotype that Asians are good at science. They did much worse when they were reminded that they were women. The stereotype of a woman who is bad at science, which appeared in their heads, made it difficult for them to correctly solve maths problems. Thus, depending on which identity (and the stereotype associated with it) was emphasised, the students were better or worse at solving the tasks they were faced with. This happened regardless of their actual abilities or their own assessment of mathematical talent. The stereotype acted as a self-fulfilling prophecy, and the “label” acted as a switch.
Gender identity is very strong – when we ask a person who they are, they will usually answer: “I am a man”, “I am a woman” because it's one of the basic categories of self-description. Of course, it's extremely important for a young person to have a well-defined identity, but sometimes the gender identity corset becomes too strong, limiting them from making a decision consistent with their potential. This happens often when a student has interests unusual for their gender group, e.g. a girl is interested in robotics and a boy wants to become an early-stage school teacher. Sometimes the stereotypical beliefs of students are so strong that their own preferences don't reflect their abilities or skills. A mathematically gifted person decides to put the main emphasis in their development on the humanities and vice versa – a linguistically gifted person decides to specialise in science, because the stereotype makes it difficult for them to recognise their strengths. Sometimes students choose their favourite subjects, school or field of study, not guided by their own interests, but by the choice of their peers. How can you help them make a truly personal, free choice?
We belong to many groups at the same time
A good exercise that increases the pool of choices is to show students that they belong to many groups at the same time: national group, gender group, language group, family group, school group, class group, group of fans of a certain genre of music, enthusiasts of various games, “night owls” and “early risers”, short and tall. Additionally, people tend to see group members as very similar to each other. So we should show them that members of a given group are not identical clones, but unique individuals. We should point out the diversity of the group and the uniqueness of each student. The fact that we belong to different groups that are important to us is worth emphasising especially in the case of young people aged 10-13, when being a member of a peer group is particularly important.
External factors influencing students' interests
We should talk to students about the social factors that can influence the choice of favourite subjects, field of study or profession. Parents' expectations, colleagues' opinions or stereotypes can shape choices and make it difficult for a student to acknowledge their individual preferences. What am I going to do? What is important to me? Who do I want to be? What activities and subjects do I feel good at? We should try to talk to students about this topic, expanding the pool of possibilities, also encouraging them to try various, perhaps unusual, activities. We should perform mental exercises in which a student imagines that they are engaged in such an unusual activity. We should observe their opinions, emotions and thoughts on this subject with understanding.
Searching for oneself
We should encourage students to try various activities, to creatively search for the subjects they feel comfortable in, the information that is interesting for them, and things that make them passionate. Reviewing oneself is an extremely important skill. Being able to recognise one's own emotions, even unpleasant ones, fear or anxiety, sadness or anger, becomes extremely important for understanding oneself, one's goals and values. If I feel these emotions, maybe some values important to me have been violated, maybe I've failed to achieve important goals? Maybe the relationship with people important to me needs to be improved? It's also worth showing students that sadness and fear may appear when we do something innovative, creative, and outside the box. These unpleasant feelings may appear if the environment cannot accept non-standard interests and passions. This is clearly seen in the film “Billy Elliot”, showing a boy from a mining family who wants to do ballet against his father's wishes and is therefore not accepted. A conversation about the fate of this hero can become a pretext for an interesting discussion on the role of emotions, the importance of social acceptance, and family relations. It can show how difficult it is to feel mismatched with a certain group (here we are talking about family and relatives), and what emotions and thoughts it triggers. It also allows you to understand that following your own path and being yourself can be associated with failures or a sense of incompatibility, but can also give you great satisfaction and a sense of agency. Support from the teacher in building oneself and one's own identity is very important. Empathetic understanding of emotions in a student gives a chance for authentic contact.
Role models and values
We should create an atmosphere of openness by showing people who pursue their passions in various areas. We should show older colleagues who are engaged in atypical activities, e.g. work to prevent climate change, have extraordinary passions, are involved in robotics or pottery. They can become an important reference group for students. At the end of elementary school, we should help them choose their secondary school or class profile by showing examples of people following their own path, leaders and successful people from different ethnicities, from different genders, and from different backgrounds. By helping in this orientation, we should try to find and refer to values that are important to students. If it's important for a student to start a family, to have children, and they have a scientific mind, we should pay attention to the fact that the work of a programmer allows them to realise these values because it can be performed remotely. If self-development is important to a student, then they can implement this value in the same profession by writing a doctoral dissertation in this area or by developing an innovative implementation project. Theoretically the same profession, but a wide range of possibilities. Signing up for a chess club may also result from various values: the desire to develop and achieve self-fulfilment, but also to find people with similar interests.
Our mind is a great tool for exploring the world. It allows you to learn new things, solve various puzzles. On the other hand, it can also be a bit rigid – it uses stereotypes, likes to categorise and simplify reality. We should take care of the flexibility of our own and our students' minds. Only then will we and our students be able to remain flexible in our own choices and realise our true potential.
[1] Research on this phenomenon is described in Polish in: D. Drążkowski, Interwencje redukujące zagrożenie stereotypem (Interventions reducing the stereotype threat), in: “Edukacja” 2014, issue 3 (128), pp. 38-53.