Individuals hold different mindsets encompassing beliefs about trait stability (stable vs. malleable) and goal orientations (performance vs. mastery). These motivational beliefs affect behavioral self-regulation, which is an important predictor of school success and includes both executive functions (EF) and classroom behavioral self-regulation (CBSR). In this study, we examined the structure of mindsets in kindergarteners and the relations with EF and CBSR by interviewing 147 kindergarteners (51% female) aged 5 to 7 years (M = 6.47, SD = .39). We used a multimethod approach with self-report and direct measures of behavioral self-regulation, achievement, and a newly developed mindset scale. Exploratory and confirmatory factor analyses revealed that trait beliefs and goal orientations represent two different but related motivational beliefs. Results indicated differential effects of trait beliefs and goal orientations on EF and CBSR: Children with a mastery (vs. performance) orientation showed better EF, whereas children with a belief in traits as malleable (vs. stable) showed better CBSR. Structural equation modeling showed significant indirect effects of both motivational beliefs on achievement, with EF and CBSR as mediators. Findings suggest that motivational beliefs are important in fostering behavioral self-regulation for successful adjustment to the demands of kindergarten.

Implicit theories about the nature of human attributes as either malleable or fixed influence how people perceive knowledge and approach different tasks. Two studies explored the relationship between implicit theory of writing ability, metacognitive strategy knowledge (MSK), and strategy use in the context of academic writing. The pre-study with N ¼ 51 university students revealed a significant correlation between students' implicit theories and their MSK. Self-reported quality and diversity of strategy use, assessed by open-ended questions, were not significantly associated with students' implicit theories. Expanding strategy use measures, study 2 (N ¼ 133) found significant correlations between a more malleable theory and more frequent use of metacognitive strategies. Confirming the results of the pre-study, the results of study 2 showed that a more malleable theory of writing ability was directly associated with higher MSK. In sum, the results illustrate the importance of linking implicit theories to self-regulated learning.

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Is the way that kindergarteners view their willpower – as a limited or as a non-limited resource – related to their motivation and behavioral self-regulation? This study is the first to examine the structure of beliefs about willpower in relation to behavioral self-regulation by interviewing 147 kindergarteners (52% girls) aged 5 to 7 years (M = 6.47, SD = 0.39). A new instrument was developed to assess implicit theories about willpower for this specific age group. Results indicated that kindergarteners who think of their willpower as a non-limited resource showed better behavioral self-regulation than children who adopted a more limited theory, even when controlling for age and gender. This relation was especially pronounced in low achieving children. Mediation and moderation analyses showed that this relation was partly mediated through the children’s willingness to invest effort to reach a learning goal. Findings suggest that fostering metacognitive beliefs in children, such as the belief that willpower is a non-limited resource, may increase behavioral self-regulation for successful adjustment to the demands of kindergarten and school.

Numerous studies show positive effects of students’ malleable implicit theories of their abilities on their self-regulated learning and learning achievements (Yeager and Dweck, 2012; Burnette et al., 2013), especially when domain-specific implicit theories are assessed (Costa and Faria, 2018). Thinking of school improvement as a collective learning process for the teaching staff, it is reasonable to assume that this relationship also exists on the teacher level. Hence, this study aims to provide answers to the following overarching question: What role do teachers’ implicit theories of professional abilities play for school improvement? In a first step, a measurement instrument was developed to assess teachers’ implicit theories of professional abilities in the domain of school improvement. In a second step, we explored the link between these implicit theories and collective teacher learning in the area of further developing the school’s educational practices. In a sample of N = 1,483 Swiss primary school teachers at N = 59 schools, we analyzed how teachers’ malleable (vs. fixed) implicit theories of professional abilities are related to collective metacognitive and emotional-motivational regulation activities and to the perception that the school is on the right track to improvement. Results show that teachers’ implicit theories of professional abilities can be assessed reliably. Structural equation modeling analyses revealed that the more teachers view professional abilities as malleable and developable, the more positive their perceptions of the schools’ improvement were. This relation was mediated by collective emotional-motivational regulation activities. However, no significant effect of a malleable implicit theory on collective metacognitive regulation was found. It can be concluded that teachers have varying beliefs about the malleability of teachers’ professional abilities that are linked to their collective regulation. It therefore acknowledges the domain-specific effects of teachers’ implicit theories in the area of school improvement.