POLICY PAPER: GROWTH MINDSET IN EDUCATION 10
preserve positive perceptions of one’s ability (Dweck, 2006; Dweck & Leggett, 1988; Yeager et al., 2016). For
instance, when students engage in fixed mindset beliefs and thinking, they focus on competing for the best grade
and comparing themselves to other students rather than seeking out the satisfaction of mastery (Burnette,
O’Boyle, VanEpps, Pollack, & Finkel, 2013). It is possible for students to believe that their intelligence is more fixed
than the intelligence of others. Those students may believe that intelligence is malleable but just not for them.
When this difference between self theories and general theories exists, motivation towards mastery is lower and
helplessness, self-handicapping, and disengagement in school increases (De Castella & Byrne, 2015).
Students holding a growth mindset are more resilient to
setbacks. Growth mindset thinking sees failures and
mistakes as opportunities to learn and grow (Dweck &
Leggett, 1988; Mangels, Butterfield, Lamb, Good, &
Dweck, 2006). Students holding a growth mindset believe
that innate gifts and talents are just the starting point—
success is based on dedication and hard work. Growth
mindset thinking does not necessarily project that everyone has the same potential, rather everyone can improve
their current ability if they work hard (Dweck, 2006; 2008; Dweck & Leggett, 1988; Yeager, et al., 2016). It is also
important to understand that students rarely hold one mindset, exclusively, in all circumstances. They
typically exhibit a moderate mindset, where they may hold beliefs that fit into some aspects of a fixed mindset
and some aspects of growth mindset, depending on the context and skill area (Dweck, 2006). Thus, it is possible
for people to hold contradictory beliefs about their abilities at the same time.
1.3. WHY DOES GROWTH MINDSET MATTER TO STAKEHOLDERS IN EDUCATION?
Students’ interpret their environment through the lens of their beliefs and perceptions. Students’ beliefs are
shaped by their experiences and by cues they receive through their interactions with others around them—
parents, teachers, coaches, mentors, and peers, for instance. In an educational context, students take cues from
the messaging in the environment, grading policies, teacher feedback,
peer-to-peer dialogue, and parental concerns and encouragement. That
messaging determines what goals are important and what actions
students should take to fulfill those goals (Dweck, 2006; Yeager &
Walton, 2011). Mindsets integrate goals, beliefs, and behaviors to shape
students’ thoughts and actions (Dweck & Yeager, 2019). This integration
plays out daily in classroom environments worldwide across every cultural
context. Students’ beliefs about their intelligence can cause them to
Finding 1: Students rarely hold one mindset
in all circumstances, and often exhibit a
mindset somewhere between fixed and
growth.
Finding 2: This integration of
goals, beliefs, and behaviors
plays out daily in classroom
environments worldwide
across every cultural context.