2026 ASEE Annual Conference & Exposition

This empirical research brief paper explores the impact of engineering identity and mindset on undergraduate engineering students’ perceptions of failure.

Failure is a common experience in education; reactions and responses, including emotional ones, are complex and often shaped by students’ perceptions, attitudes, and the context in which the failure occurred. Although failure can be seen as an opportunity for growth, it is frequently stigmatized and students may struggle to cope depending on the nature of the failure and its scale. Existing research typically examines failure by considering one construct, e.g., mindset or emotions, with limited attention to how multiple psychological and contextual factors interact.

The purpose of this paper is to report on a survey conducted on undergraduate engineering students at a Canadian R1 university, focusing on the impact of engineering identity and mindset on students’ perceptions and responses to failure, including emotional experiences and learning strategies. It builds on our preliminary work, where we analyzed students’ fears of failure, their associations with failure, their suggestions for reducing stigma within and beyond the university context, and how the responses differed across demographic variables such as gender or the number of semesters of study completed.

The survey instrument was informed by Henry’s theoretical framework on how students approach academic challenge and failure, and included constructs such as perceptions of failure, engineering identity, mindset (intelligence beliefs), fears of failure, achievement emotions, and motivated strategies for learning. The survey contained 116 items with Likert scale, multiple response, and open-ended formats. We received 232 valid responses, corresponding to a response rate of ~ 7%. We analyzed quantitative data using factor analysis, descriptive statistics, t-tests, one-way ANOVA, and hierarchical regression modelling.

Independent t-tests showed that students with a stronger engineering identity were more likely to see failure positively, e.g., an opportunity to learn or a source of feedback and less likely to report societal pressures as fear factors. They also reported lower levels of negative achievement emotions, higher levels of positive achievement emotions, and used more frequently learning strategies such as elaboration, critical thinking, and self-regulation. Hierarchical regression modelling showed that engineering identity was a consistent predictor of students’ perceptions, fears of failure, achievement emotions, and use of learning strategies when controlling for gender, the number of semesters of study completed, and mindset, with the additional variance being explained ranging from modest to substantial. We also found that students with a high growth/low fixed mindset profile reported higher engineering identity, suggesting a relationship between the development of engineering identity and mindset.

Engineering identity and mindset may be important factors in determining how undergraduate engineering students perceive and engage with failure, including their emotional experience and how they approach learning. Understanding the relationships between these constructs may help inform the development of instructional strategies and support systems that build resilience and promote a growth mindset.