Developmental Variations in the Growth Mindset Effect and the Moderating Effect of Growth-Oriented Classroom Practices in Math Achievement

• In Event: Situating Growth Mindset across Contexts and Cultures: Experiential, Environmental, and Developmental Influences

Abstract

Objectives
The present study investigates the developmental difference in (1) the growth mindset effect on math achievement and (2) the moderating effect of growth-oriented classroom practices on the mindset effect across adolescence.

Theoretical framework
Adolescence is often associated with a developmental decline in math motivation, and transitions to traditional middle and high schools are marked by performance orientation, such as stricter grading and increased ability grouping (Wigfield et al., 2006). Although a growth mindset —defined as a belief that one’s abilities can develop (Dweck & Yeager, 2021)—has been associated with enhanced academic performance in adolescence (Yeager et al., 2019; Blackwell et al., 2007), a comprehensive understanding of how the mindset effect differs developmentally within adolescence remains limited. Further, recent studies have increasingly hypothesized and empirically tested classroom contexts in which a growth mindset is effective (the mindset-plus-supportive context hypothesis) (Walton & Yeager, 2020; Yeager et al., 2022). Understanding the developmental stages during which these contexts support the mindset effect is also crucial for providing developmental and practical implications for mindset theories and interventions.

Data sources
The sample consisted of 1,330 adolescents (54% female; 69% White, 26% Black; 49% low-income) from 14 public schools located in a metropolitan area of the northeastern U.S. The number of 8th, 10th, and 12th graders in Fall 2018 was 567, 516, and 247, respectively, with a mean age of 15.50 (SD = 1.56). We used validated student-reported measures of growth mindset (Dweck et al., 1995) and growth-oriented classroom practices (Wang et al., 2024) as the focal treatment and moderator in Fall 2018, and standardized math grades from school records as the outcome in Spring 2019 (see measurement information in Table 1).


Methods
We defined the causal effects of interest under the potential outcomes framework (see definitions in Table 2). The present study applied the regression-based moderation analysis while carefully controlling for confounders (see Equation 1). We included a classroom random intercept since students were nested within 171 classrooms (ICC = 0.28).

Results
On average, the growth mindset effect was positive (0.11), but declined as students progressed to high school (see Table 3). The mindset effect was largest (0.16) in grade 8, then decreased to 0.07 in grade 10, and further to 0.06 in grade 12. Growth-oriented classroom practices generally moderated the mindset effect positively, as Figure 1 shows. However, this positive moderating effect declined in the upper grades, as shown in Table 3. The moderation effect was largest in grade 8 (0.15), remained positive but decreased to 0.08 in grade 10, and turned negative (-0.33) in grade 12 (see Figure 2 for the grade 12-specific figure).

Scholarly significance
Our study highlights the importance of understanding the adolescents’ developmental differences in adolescents’ growth mindset effects and the supportive role of classroom practices. The relative importance of holding a growth mindset and being in growth-oriented classrooms may diminish in high school, possibly due to the increasing performance-oriented cultures that emphasize competition and social comparison (Eccles & Roeser, 2011).

Authors

• Tetsuya Yamada, University of Pittsburgh

• Xu Qin, University of Pittsburgh

• Christina Scanlon, University of Chicago

• Ming-Te Wang, University of Chicago