Exploring the Relationship between Teacher Growth Mindsets and Student Learning Outcomes in Rio de Janeiro

• In Event: Teacher Growth Mindsets

Proposal

Teacher mindsets play a pivotal role in shaping equitable classroom dynamics and student success, yet scalable professional development models that effectively shift these beliefs remain underexplored. This presentation synthesizes findings from two randomized controlled trials conducted in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil—a region marked by entrenched educational disparities—to evaluate how growth mindset interventions, delivered through different modalities, influence teacher practices and student outcomes. The first study (2019) tested a 5-week in-person intervention with 323 fifth-grade teachers, emphasizing collaborative strategies to integrate malleable intelligence beliefs into instruction. Results revealed that intervention teachers exhibited stronger growth-mindset beliefs (+0.502 SD, p < 0.01) and their students outperformed peers in language (+0.192 SD) and mathematics (+0.391 SD, p < 0.01). Classroom observations demonstrated qualitative pedagogical improvements in culture and instruction, though socioemotional outcomes remained unchanged. The second study (2021) compared this in-person model to an online adaptation post-pandemic. While online workshops failed to shift teacher mindsets or overall pedagogical quality, they improved time management practices, suggesting modality-specific impacts. This dual analysis advances the global equity agenda by mapping pathways to scale psychological interventions in diverse pedagogical landscapes.

Authors

• Tassia de Souza Cruz, FGV EBAPE - Fundação Getulio Vargas

• Barbara Bruns, Self-rmployed