Giving Compass' Take:

• Researchers at New York University found more positive results when parents adjust their language to encourage their kids to "do science" rather than "be scientists." 

• Action-focused language is more inclusive, says the author. What other instances could parents and educators adjust their language and messaging?

• Read about how to support STEM education. 

Over the course of a school year, elementary school children lose confidence that they can “be scientists,” but not that they can “do science,” according to a new study.

Researchers also found that children think more adults in their community can “do science” than “are scientists,” which suggests they have more inclusive views of who can do science, even while they might hold stereotypes about who can be a scientist.

“Action-focused language—instead of identity-focused encouragement—leads children to hold more inclusive beliefs about who can succeed in science and bolsters science efficacy and interest, particularly among children from ethnic minority groups that are underrepresented in science,” says Marjorie Rhodes, an associate professor in the psychology department at New York University and senior author of the study in Developmental Science.

The results are consistent with those reported earlier this year that found that asking young girls to “do science” leads them to show greater persistence in subsequent science activities than does asking them to “be scientists.”

The children in these previous studies were primarily white, however, and the researchers hypothesized that the benefits of action-focused language would extend more broadly (to children of both genders) in more racially, ethnically, and economically diverse samples.

“Studying a more diverse population is crucial if we want to understand and ensure efforts to improve science engagement work for everyone,” says Ryan Lei, a postdoctoral research fellow and lead author of the paper. “That we see similar effects across children of different backgrounds in these communities suggests that using action-focused language could be a promising strategy to help a large number of children stay engaged in science.”

The results showed that, over the course of the school year, children’s confidence and interest in “being a scientist” declined. But, they maintained confidence and interest in their ability to “do science,” showing that persistent curiosity in science links to messages about actions and not identity.

Read the full article about adjusting language to encourage kids to do more science by James Devitt at Futurity.