The mastery learning pedagogical approach recognizes that mastery is not always achieved on the first attempt, and learning from mistakes and perseverance is fundamental to learning. Research has suggested that mastery learning can have a positive influence on underrepresented engineering students' learning and course performance. Yet, there is a lack of understanding of the specific ways mastery learning could benefit students and what creates those benefits. This dissertation aims to advance our understanding of how mastery learning can serve engineering students by examining their academic performance and mindsets. Study 1 is a systematic literature review of mastery learning in engineering education. It explored how mastery learning has been applied to undergraduate engineering courses, its effects on student performance, student experiences, and instructor feedback about the application of mastery learning. Study 1 revealed that mastery learning can be feasibly applied to a variety of engineering courses and that many articles say students learn better through mastery learning. Study 2 used longitudinal interview data to understand how students from a Hispanic-Serving Institution (HSI) reacted to mistakes and learned from their mistakes in mastery learning courses. I interviewed 7 participants, many of who were in mechanical engineering majors and identified as Latinx and first-generation college students. In this study, I found that mastery learning positively impacted women's sense of belonging, and all students' wellbeing and learning from mistakes. Study 3 applied a linear mixed modeling approach to show how mastery learning and classroom goal structures impacted first-generation college students' growth mindsets. I surveyed 148 first-generation college students, most of whom were Latinx. Mastery learning was shown to positively influence the growth mindsets of approximately 40% of students. Even students enrolled in non-mastery learning courses showed an increase in their growth mindsets score the more they perceived that the classroom environment was focused on mastery. Collectively, these studies reveal ways mastery learning can positively contribute to the academic development, mindsets, and wellbeing of engineering students. The evidence provided can be used to help make decisions about employing mastery learning to better serve HSI's underrepresented student body. [The dissertation citations contained here are published with the permission of ProQuest LLC. Further reproduction is prohibited without permission. Copies of dissertations may be obtained by Telephone (800) 1-800-521-0600. Web page: http://www.proquest.com/en-US/products/dissertations/individuals.shtml.]