Persistence Mindset among Adolescents: Who Benefits from the Message that Academic Struggles are Normal and Temporary?

Abstract

Research proposing that mindset interventions promote student achievement has been conducted at a frenetic pace nationwide in the United States with many studies yielding mixed results. The present study explores the hypothesis that mindset interventions are beneficial for students only under specific circumstances. Using a randomized controlled trial with student-level random assignment within two public schools (School 1: n = 198 seventh-graders, 73% Black, 27% White, 53% male; School 2: n = 400 ninth-graders, 98% White, 2% Black, 52% male), this trial conceptually integrated elements from three evidence-based mindset interventions. It then examined two theoretically driven moderators of student performance following the transition to middle or high school: students' racial backgrounds and students' educational expectations.Results indicated that the intervention was effective for a particular subset of students-Black students with high educational expectations-resulting in higher grades over the course of the year. Among students with low educational expectations (regardless of race), the intervention did not impact grades. For White students with high educational expectations, the control activities actually benefitted grades more than the mindset intervention. Both theoretical and practical implications for mindset research are discussed.

Theoretical, Ethical, and Policy Considerations for Conducting Social–Psychological Interventions to Close Educational Achievement Gaps

“…A similar finding was uncovered by Binning et al. (), who found that White adolescent students who reported high academic expectations at the beginning of the academic year actually had lower year‐end GPAs if they were exposed to a mindset intervention than if they were assigned to a control condition consisting of mathematics practice.…”

“…In one set of studies, African American seventh graders who completed a series of in‐class self‐affirmation writing exercises showed benefits on their academic performance that persisted 7–9 years later (e.g., greater college attendance; Goyer et al., ). Several other studies have shown that social–psychological interventions can bolster student outcomes (e.g., higher grade point averages [GPAs], fewer discipline incidents) for multiple years after the initial intervention (e.g., Binning, Wang, & Amemiya, ; Borman, Grigg, Rozek, Hanselman, & Dewey, ; Tibbetts et al., ; Yeager et al., ).…”

Parental Ethnic‐Racial Socialization and Children of Color's Academic Success: A Meta‐Analytic Review

“…Nonetheless, confirmed strength in ethnic‐racial socialization's link with academic motivation is remarkable. Not only is there a wealth of evidence showing motivation's direct relationship with grades and school performance, but positive motivational beliefs are also linked to greater psychological well‐being (Binning, Wang, & Amemiya, ; Deci & Ryan, ).…”

Mindsets and Self-Concepts About Self-Regulated Learning: Their Relationships With Emotions, Strategy Knowledge, and Academic Achievement

“…Our results also demonstrate that students in the lower academic track adhere to a fixed mindset about SRL and possess lower strategy knowledge than their peers in the higher academic track do. Interventions that focus on mindsets have proven to be particularly relevant for low-performing and disadvantaged students and represent an important contribution to increasing equality and educational opportunities for those students (Binning et al, 2019). Therefore, low-performing students could especially benefit from combined training that focuses on mindsets about SRL and SRL.…”