Enhancing children's math motivation with a joint intervention on mindset and gender stereotypes

We tested the effectiveness of the intervention program designed to enhance children's math motivation by simultaneously strengthening their growth mindsets and weakening their gender stereotypes. Both the intervention and control programs consisted of six bi-weekly 40-min sessions that were evenly distributed over three months and administered during regular school hours. Repeated measures analyses of variance with group (between-subject factor: intervention vs. control) and time (within-subject factor: pretest vs. posttest) revealed significant Group × Time interactions for all outcomes but test anxiety. Growth mindset, perceived competence, persistence, and achievement of the intervention group increased, while those of the control group decreased. Gender stereotypic beliefs exhibited the opposite pattern. Also, growth mindset and gender stereotypes correlated negatively only for the intervention group. Path analysis demonstrated that the growth mindset of students after the intervention predicted their math persistence and achievement directly and indirectly via their perceived competence in math.     

Dangerous mindsets: How beliefs about intelligence predict motivational change

The present study examined how beliefs about intelligence, as mediated by ability-validation goals, predicted whether students lost or maintained levels of intrinsic motivation over the course of a single academic year. 978 third- through eighth-grade students were surveyed in the fall about their theories concerning the malleability of intelligence, need to validate their academic ability through schoolwork, and intrinsic motivation. At the end of the school year, they were surveyed again about their intrinsic motivation and subsequently characterized as either decliners (those who lost intrinsic motivation over the year) or maintainers (those who maintained or gained intrinsic motivation over the year). As predicted, decliners were more likely to endorse an entity theory of intelligence than maintainers and this relationship was fully mediated by the adoption of ability-validation goals. Implications for intervention efforts and future research are discussed.     

Growth goals and growth mindset from a methodological-synergistic perspective: lessons learned from a quantitative correlational research program

This review explores predictors and consequences of students’ growth goals and growth mindset in school with particular emphasis on how correlational statistical methods can be applied to illuminate key issues and implications. Study 1 used cross-sectional data and employed structural equation modelling (SEM) to investigate the role of growth goals in mediating the link between interpersonal relationships and academic engagement. Study 2 conducted multi-group path analysis to investigate the role of growth goals in the academic outcomes of two groups of students (ADHD and non-ADHD). Study 3 used longitudinal data and SEM to test a cross-lagged panel design to investigate reciprocal links between growth goals and growth mindset. Study 4 conducted multi-level SEM where the effects of a growth orientation on engagement and achievement were investigated at the student-level (level 1) and the classroom-level (level 2). Taking these four studies together, we aim to show how correlational data and multivariate correlational analyses have been effective in answering research questions in a way that have practical and theoretical implications for students’ academic growth. We also position this review as a substantive-methodological synergy – an approach recently recommended in response to concerns about the increasing polarization of substantive and methodological research and researchers.     

Incremental beliefs of ability,achievement emotions and learning of Singapore students

This study investigated the relationships of students’ incremental beliefs of math ability to their achievement emotions, classroom engagement and math achievement. A sample of 273 secondary students in Singapore were administered measures of incremental beliefs of math ability, math enjoyment, pride, boredom and anxiety, as well as math classroom attention and disruption. In addition, students’ end-of-year math achievement scores were collected from school records. The hypothesised mediation model was supported in structural equation modelling analysis. Incremental beliefs of math ability were associated positively with math enjoyment and pride, and negatively with math boredom and anxiety. Achievement emotions fully mediated the relationships of incremental beliefs of math ability to classroom engagement and math achievement. Incremental beliefs of math ability were associated positively with classroom attention through math enjoyment and pride, negatively with classroom disruption through math anxiety and positively with math achievement through the two outcome-related emotions, math pride and anxiety. The findings and implications are discussed in the academic context of Singapore.     

Support teachers' beliefs about the academic achievement of students with special educational needs

José Castro Silva, lecturer in sciences of education, and José Morgado, assistant professor, both work at the Instituto Superior de Psicologica Aplicada in Lisboa, Portugal. In this article, they describe their study of support teachers' beliefs about the academic achievement of school students with special educational needs. The 'support teachers' who were the subject of this study work in mainstream schools where the majority of pupils with special educational needs are educated in mainstream classes run by 'general teachers'. The work of the support teachers is supervised and supported by 'special education team co-ordinators'. The study reported here set out to elicit the support teachers' beliefs about the factors that contribute to success at school for pupils with special educational needs. Results suggest that the support teachers consider that factors including 'school climate', 'curriculum design' and 'teaching approach' contribute significantly to achievements among these pupils. On the other hand, analysis reveals that the support teachers attribute difficulties and lack of achievement significantly to 'out-of-school' contextual variables. These findings are related to a detailed review of the literature and the authors discuss the implications for policy, practice and professional development.     

A two‐component growth mindset intervention for young people with SEND

Interventions to increase the endorsement of the growth mindset (the belief that intelligence can be improved with effort) have been successfully implemented in schools. However, they rarely target children and young people with special educational needs and/or disabilities (SEND), a group who are more likely to endorse a fixed mindset, experience lower academic self‐concept and academic resilience, and be at risk of negative stereotyped attitudes. This quasi‐experimental study implemented a 10‐week PSHE programme as well as dedicated lessons with adapted classroom practices, for example, task framing and feedback, to promote the growth mindset message to young people with SEND (N = 18). Analyses of pre‐ to post‐intervention measures demonstrated moderate evidence for the intervention having increased students’ endorsement of the growth mindset, as well as anecdotal evidence for increased academic self‐concept, academic resilience and positive attitudes to disability. However, these effects were not sustained in follow‐up measures conducted 7 weeks post‐intervention. The intervention did not improve students’ academic performance. Although preliminary, findings demonstrate the viability of growth mindset interventions for children and young people with SEND, but suggest that interventions should be maintained for longer‐lasting effects.     

Expectancy-value theory of achievement motivation: A developmental perspective

I consider Eccles et al.'s (1983) expectancy-value model of achievement performance and choice from a developmental perspective, by examining how recent research on the development of young children's competence beliefs, expectancies for success, subjective task values, and achievement goals can be incorporated into the model. The kinds of change in children's achievement beliefs considered include change in the factor structure of children's competence beliefs and values; change across age in the mean level of those constructs; and change in children's conceptions of ability beliefs and subjective values. I also discuss how achievement goals are conceptualized in this model, and how goals are conceived by other current motivation researchers. Changes in the nature of relations among competence beliefs, subjective task values, achievement goals, and achievement behaviors also are considered.     

The impact of an online intervention (Brainology) on the mindset and resiliency of secondary school pupils: a preliminary mixed methods study

This preliminary study investigated the impact of the online interactive programme Brainology (which aimed to encourage a growth mindset) on the mindset, resiliency and sense of mastery of secondary school pupils. A quasi-experimental pre-, post- and follow-up mixed-methods study was carried out with 33 participants aged 13–14?years. The measures were Dweck’s theories of intelligence scale and Prince-Embury’s resiliency scales for children and adolescents. Quantitative data were analysed using analysis of variance. Qualitative data from focus groups were categorised and coded. The programme led to a significant increase in pre- to post-mindset scores for the intervention group. However, there was a significant decline at follow-up and the initial impact of the intervention was not sustained. There were no significant changes in mindset for the comparison group. There were no significant changes in resiliency or sense of mastery for either group. The significant short-term impact of Brainology and non-significant follow-up findings are discussed. The present study has limitations such as small sample size, which has implications for generalisability. Future research should investigate the longer term effectiveness of educational interventions in schools.

This article has been corrected with minor changes. These changes do not impact the academic content of the article.     

Chinese mindset: theories of intelligence,goal orientation and academic achievement in Hong Kong students

The purpose of the present study was to examine the relationship between theories of intelligence and goal orientations, and their joint connections to students’ academic achievement in the Chinese cultural context. A total of 418 university students in Hong Kong participated in the present study. The survey was administered to collect information on students’ beliefs about their goal orientations, theories of intelligence and their college grade point averages. The data were analysed using structural equation modelling. The results suggest that beliefs in the incremental theory of intelligence contribute to students’ academic achievements by facilitating their endorsement of mastery goals and performance-approach goals. Students’ performance-avoidance goals have a negative association with academic success. Cultural factors and considerations are addressed to clarify further the culture-specific findings.     

Teacher,classroom, and student growth orientation in mathematics: A multilevel examination of growth goals,growth mindset,engagement, and achievement

This study examined associations between student- (N = 1414), classroom-, and teacher (N = 91) growth orientation and mathematics engagement and achievement using a multilevel model. Results demonstrated positive associations between student growth orientation and mathematics outcomes and positive associations between classroom and teacher growth orientation and mathematics achievement. There was also a marginally significant interaction effect between classroom and teacher growth orientation on classroom engagement. Findings hold relevance for educational interventions surrounding growth constructs and teachers’ personal growth orientation.     

The relationships between the motivational beliefs,course experiences and achievement among postgraduate students in Pakistan

While there is considerable literature concerning the relationship between student motivation and achievement, few studies have examined the relationship between student motivation, course experiences and academic achievement at the postgraduate level. This paper is based on the findings of the initial correlation analysis of the relationship between motivational beliefs and course experiences of 368 postgraduate students in five different subject areas enrolled in day and afternoon classes at a highly-ranked public university in Pakistan. A questionnaire was developed using scales from the Motivated Strategies for Learning Questionnaire and the Course Experiences Questionnaire to measure the motivational beliefs and course experiences of students. Academic achievement was measured using the achievement score in the courses in which the data were collected. The results of the study indicated that students' achievement scores were positively correlated with their self-efficacy for learning and negatively correlated with test anxiety, whereas the course-experience factor learning community was significantly correlated with achievement scores. Significant correlations were also found among almost all motivational beliefs and course experience factors.     

Motivational beliefs and cognitive processes in mathematics achievement, analyzed in the context of cultural differences: a Korean elementary school example

The relations among students’ motivational beliefs, cognitive processes, and academic achievement were investigated. A 51-item questionnaire together with a mathematics achievement test was administered to 459 fifth graders in Korean elementary school mathematics classrooms. Results indicated that, in general, students’ cognitive processes related closely to competence beliefs, task values, and achievement goals, and more importantly their success or failure in mathematics achievement was closely linked to competence beliefs, performance-avoidance goals, and persistence strategies. Positive evidence of performance-approach goals was observed in math learning relative to task goals. As expected, performance-avoidance goals turned out to be detrimental to students’ math learning. These findings are generally congruent with the motivational theories and support the position that students should be encouraged to adopt task goals and actively involve themselves in math class activities. However, it also behooves us to recognize the potential benefits of performance-approach goals in different cultural contexts, such as the Korean elementary school math classrooms.     

The role of growth mindset in shaping teachers' intercultural competencies: A study among Finnish teachers

Cultural heterogenisation of classrooms and existing achievement gaps have led to an acknowledgement of the need to develop teachers' intercultural competencies. A growth mindset (a belief that intelligence, personality and other such qualities can be cultivated) predicts positive intergroup attitudes and reduces stereotyping, but has not been researched as an aspect of teachers' intercultural competence. This study analyses the role of growth mindset in shaping three aspects relevant to teachers' intercultural competencies: process versus trait orientation to students, diversity beliefs and orientation to social justice and equity. Fifteen Finnish comprehensive schoolteachers were interviewed. Significant differences were found between teachers with fixed and growth mindsets. Teachers with a growth mindset were more likely to hold polyculturalist beliefs about the interconnectedness and changeability of cultures, and to recognise and combat issues of social injustice and inequity. Teachers with a fixed mindset made trait-focused interpretations of their students and did not easily recognise problems of social justice in school or in society. These results encourage us to suggest that a growth mindset is a construct with a lot of potential to introduce novel approaches to multi/intercultural and social justice teacher education, but more research is needed. The implications of the findings for teacher education and further research are discussed.     

Attributional beliefs of Singapore students: relations to self-construal,competence and achievement goals

This study investigates attributional beliefs of Singapore secondary students in their English study and how they can be predicted by self-construal, competence and achievement goals. A total of 1,496 students were administered surveys on seven attributions, independent and interdependent self-construals, previous achievement, self-efficacy, mastery approach and avoidance goals and performance approach and avoidance goals. We found that Singapore students attributed academic success mainly to internal regulation (effort, interest and study skills), followed by teachers’ help, ability, parents’ help and tuition classes. Hierarchical regression analyses showed that three predictors (self-construal, competence and achievement goals) explained 4.2–12.3% of the variances in students’ attributional beliefs. In particular, students with interdependent self-construal, high competence or mastery goals tended to attribute academic success to internal regulation (effort, interest and study skills) and support from teachers and parents. Students with low competence, high mastery avoidance goals or high performance goals were more likely to value tuition classes, and those with high performance avoidance goals also tended to ascribe academic success to ability and parent’s help. The findings are discussed in relation to the culture of Singapore.     

Beliefs of experienced and novice teachers about achievement

The aim of this study was to examine the beliefs that experienced and novice teachers hold about school achievement. It is important to investigate these beliefs and attributions because of the significant role that teachers play in the lives of most children. A group of Greek Cypriot elementary school teachers (n = 154) and a comparable group of teacher education students (n = 159) completed the Beliefs About School Achievement (BASA) scale. It was found that, in comparison to student teachers, experienced teachers tend to attribute achievement more to factors that are biologically determined, uncontrollable by the child, and stable over time – such as intellectual ability. They also believe significantly more than student teachers that factors such as gender and family background play an important role in child achievement. In contrast, novice teachers believe more in the role that teachers play in student learning and in the importance of student effort.     

Differential prospective relationships of social-oriented and individual-oriented achievement motivations with achievement goals and affective wellbeing: A 1-year follow-up study

This study aimed to investigate the differential prospective relationships of social-oriented achievement motivation (SOAM) and individual-oriented achievement motivation (IOAM) with student's adoption of specific achievement goals and their affective wellbeing (AWB). A total of 332 Chinese university students (M_age = 19.139; Female = 75%) voluntarily participated in the baseline and the 1-year follow-up surveys of this study. The factor score path analysis results showed statistically significant positive paths from SOAM and IOAM at baseline to performance goals and mastery goals, respectively, at follow-up. Moreover, a statistically significant positive path was found from SOAM at baseline to negative affective experiences, at follow-up, and no association was found between IOAM and AWB, after controlling for achievement goals. The findings suggest the usefulness of raising educators' and parents' awareness regarding the double-edged sword of utilizing socially valued motives to promote performance approach goals in individuals because such values potentially lowering their psychological wellbeing.     

Achievement-oriented beliefs and their relation to academic expectations and school achievement among Qatari students

This study investigated the relation between motivational goals and university intentions, school valuing and school achievement. The premise of this study is that motivational goals play a key role in academic values and achievement. Confirmatory factor analysis was conducted to establish the construct validity of the motivational measures drawn from the Inventory of School Motivation (ISM): mastery (effort and task), performance (competition and social power), social solidarity (social concern and affiliation), extrinsic (praise and token). A set of eight regression analyses was conducted to examine the relations among these eight motivational measures, future goals to attend college, the value of school and six school subjects. Eight regression equations revealed that effort and task were the most significant predictors of the dependent variables of university intention, valuing school and school achievement scores. Students in Qatar exhibited ‘effort and task’ in goal motivation in relation to students’ beliefs regarding future academic goals and achievement scores in school subjects. As Qatar is a highly gender-segregated society, analyses were also conducted by gender.     

Joint trajectories of extrinsic motivation and competence beliefs: A parallel-process growth mixture modeling approach

While adolescents’ academic motivation usually declines, not all adolescents struggle. This study tested the heterogeneity of motivation trajectories, focusing particularly on three types of extrinsic motivation (external, introjected, and identified regulations) accompanied by competence beliefs. Parallel-process growth mixture modeling was utilized to identify classes of joint trajectories from grades 8 to 11, drawing on nationally representative data from South Korea (n = 6908). Three distinct classes emerged based on external regulation and competence beliefs, but there were no significant differences in academic achievement (scholastic aptitude test scores) in grade 12 across the classes. Four distinct classes emerged for introjected and identified regulation, respectively, covarying with competence beliefs. The classes demonstrating high and/or increasing competence beliefs showed the highest achievement for both introjected and identified regulation models. The results highlight the importance of fostering competence beliefs and provide a more nuanced explanation of the development of multidimensional motivation from a standpoint of self-determination theory.     

Effects of a data-based decision making intervention on student achievement

Data-based decision making (DBDM) is becoming important for teachers due to increasing amounts of digital feedback on student performance. In the quasi-experimental study reported here, teachers, principals, and academic coaches from 42 schools were trained for two years in using the results of half-year interim assessments for providing students with tailor-made instruction. Our results did not show any main effects of this DBDM training trajectory on student achievement but did indicate interaction effects with students’ low prior achievement levels and socioeconomic status. Teachers experience difficulties in translating student progress data into adaptive instruction in the classroom. Implications of our findings for teacher professionalization are discussed.