Students’ growth mindset : Relation to teacher beliefs, teaching practices, and school climate

To effectively cultivate students' growth mindset, it is important to identify contextual factors that may communicate mindset messages to students. The present study examined the association of students' growth mindset with various dimensions of teacher beliefs (mindset, self-efficacy), teaching practices (guided inquiry, group work, task differentiation, in-class ability grouping, mastery and normative evaluations), and school climate (holistic development, in-school ability grouping). Participants were 2200 ten-year-old students, 358 teachers, and 65 principals from Finnish elementary schools that participated in the OECD Survey on Social and Emotional Skills. Multilevel analyses show that students endorsed more of a growth mindset in classrooms where teachers used guided inquiry and in schools that emphasized students' social-emotional development. In contrast, students endorsed more of a fixed mindset when teachers assigned different tasks to different students based on ability. Implications for how to combine teaching practices to support students’ growth mindset are discussed.Peer reviewe

Teachers' Fixed-Ability Practices: Measurement, Antecedents, and Implications for Students' Motivational Beliefs and Achievement

Mindsets (i.e., implicit beliefs about whether ability can be changed) are important for students’ learning, but relatively little is known about how they develop. Considering the gaps in the literature, the overarching purpose of the present study was to understand the role of teaching practices in the development of students’ mindsets and associated achievement-related motivational beliefs. This study set out to first develop a conceptualisation of, and a teacher and student questionnaire for, the assessment of fixed- ability practices (FAPs) – teaching practices that are based on the notion that ability is fixed. It aimed to examine the dimensionality of student-perceived FAPs (RQ 1), and whether teachers’ own motivational beliefs (mindset, teaching goal orientation, attribution for students’ achievement, and perceived student ability/expectation) predict their engagement in student-perceived and/or teacher-reported FAPs (RQ 2). Moreover, it aimed to examine whether student-perceived and/or teacher-reported FAPs predict students’ motivational beliefs (mindset, achievement goal orientation, achievement attribution, and ability self- concept) as well as achievement (RQ 3). To gain a greater understanding of why such relationships might exist, this study also explored how teachers justify their engagement in FAPs, and whether these justifications are related to their motivational beliefs (RQ 4). It also explored how students perceive FAPs, in particular, what messages they draw from these for their motivational beliefs (RQ 5). The research questions were examined in a mathematics context because maths is a subject in which fixed mindsets are particularly prevalent. A longitudinal mixed-methods design was used. Participants were 927 Year 7 students (aged 11-12 years) from 37 classes and 31 of their maths teachers in seven English secondary schools. Teachers’ and students’ motivational beliefs in maths were assessed with self-report questionnaires at the beginning of the first year of secondary school (Time 1), and students’ motivational beliefs were again assessed at the end of the school year (Time 3). During the middle of the year, FAPs were assessed with teacher and student questionnaires (Time 2). Additionally, classroom observations (Time 2) were conducted during maths lessons of four selected teachers. This was followed by video-stimulated recall interviews with these teachers and some of their students to reflect on FAPs. Lastly, students’ maths grades for the end of Year 6 and Year 7 were obtained from school records. Two-level factor analyses showed that student-perceived FAPs comprise five dimensions at iii the individual level: unsophisticated task differentiation, public evaluation, little promotion of self-regulation, differential value, and little promotion of risk-taking. There was no overarching FAPs dimension that represented all these practices well. At the classroom level, there was one uniform dimension. Corresponding FAPs scales for teachers had inadequate psychometric properties and were thus not used in subsequent analyses. Correlations between teachers’ motivational beliefs and students’ shared perceptions of FAPs were all non-significant. Hence, initially planned regression analyses were not performed to examine these relationships further. Longitudinal effects of student-perceived FAPs on students’ motivational beliefs and achievement were examined using Bayesian cross-classified multiple membership models, accounting for students belonging to multiple classrooms and teachers during the school year. Results indicated that students’ individual perceptions of teachers’ differential value led to stronger fixed mindsets and a reduced self- concept. Moreover, perceived little promotion of risk-taking led to more performance- approach goals. In addition, there were several notable trends. At the classroom and teacher level, students’ shared perceptions of FAPs led to an increase in performance-approach goals. Thematic analysis of teacher interviews showed that teachers provided multiple justifications for their practices involving beliefs, goals for students, practical considerations, and school policies. Engagement in more adaptive practices was usually explained by adaptive beliefs and values, while maladaptive practices were explained by maladaptive beliefs and values. Yet, teachers rarely referred to their mindset or goal orientation, and relationships between beliefs and practices were at times inconsistent. As expected, discussions with students indicated that they perceived FAPs negatively and that FAPs seemed to foster maladaptive motivational beliefs. Moreover, students’ initial beliefs seemed to influence how they perceived some practices. The qualitative and quantitative results were mostly aligned, but student interviews revealed additional potential influences of FAPs on motivational beliefs. The current study has made important theoretical, empirical, and methodological contributions to the field of educational psychology and, in particular, motivation. In addition, the findings have valuable practical implications as they may help teachers and other educational stakeholders understand how to avoid unwittingly setting up students to develop maladaptive motivational beliefs.This PhD was funded by the German Academic Scholarship Foundatio

Differential effects of subject‐based and integrated curriculum approaches on students' learning outcomes: A review of reviews

Publication status: PublishedAbstractThere is no general agreement about the best way of organising the curriculum. Debates often pitch a subject‐based curriculum against an integrated curriculum although there is great variation among integrated approaches. Numerous claims have been made regarding the comparative merits of different approaches, but many scholars have noted the lack of a strong evidence base to support these. This article reports a review of reviews to examine how the learning outcomes of students following more subject‐based or more integrated curriculum approaches compare based on empirical research that uses control groups. The literature from 1990 to mid‐2022 was systematically searched. A final sample of nine reviews was included and critically appraised using the AMSTAR 2. The evaluation found that all reviews were of critically low quality. Within the reviews, relatively few primary studies concerned the primary school or secondary school level and had control groups. There was variation in outcomes reported between studies, but these tended to either find positive effects of integrated approaches or no differences between groups. Very few primary studies found detrimental effects of interventions involving integrated approaches. Various methodological issues as well as complexities of integration need to be considered when interpreting the findings. Overall, we conclude that based on the limitations of the current evidence, neither strictly subject‐based nor more integrated approaches can be regarded as superior for students' learning outcomes. Implications for theory, research and practice are discussed.Context and implicationsRationale for this studyThere is a need for understanding the current evidence for comparative effects of subject‐based and integrated curriculum approaches on students' learning experiences and outcomes.Why the new findings matterThe findings can inform the long‐lasting, international debates regarding the best ways of structuring the curriculum.Implications for practitioners, curriculum designers and researchersThis review of reviews demonstrates that it is crucial for all stakeholders to move away from the false dichotomy of ‘subjects’ versus ‘integration’ and to recognise the various ways in which subjects can be integrated. Based on the reviewed evidence, neither strictly subject‐based nor integrated approaches are superior for students' learning. A well‐implemented approach drawing on the best of both worlds is likely required in practice, but more research is needed to explore this. The findings can inform researchers about what studies are needed to move the debate forward, including studies that use adequate control groups and consider affective outcomes.</jats:p

Who controls what and how? A comparison of regulation and autonomy in the UK nations' education systems

In this paper we explore the concept of the middle tier in education systems, outlining how it is a crucial element that links high-level education policy to the practices that are carried out in schools. Reflecting on the similarities and differences in the profiles of the middle tiers of the four nations of the United Kingdom (UK), we observe how they are part of a complex educational ecosystem. While noting that there are variations in the profiles of the middle tiers we also highlight how they share some common functions that are key to mediating the way that policy links with schools. Using a four nations comparative approach to analyse the middle tier allows us a more nuanced understanding of how education policy works in general, but also how policy works in each particular national context

Interconnected trajectories of achievement goals, academic achievement, and well-being : Insights from an expanded goal framework

Research on achievement goals has primarily focused on mastery and performance goals. This four-year study used an expanded goal framework to compare the prevalence, trajectories, and influence of mastery, performance, outcome, and work-avoidance goals across and beyond the middle school transition. Participants were 1072 Finnish students assessed annually from Grades 6 to 9 (ages 13–16). Across all waves, outcome goals were most strongly endorsed, and work-avoidance goals were more strongly endorsed than performance-avoidance goals. Latent growth models revealed that mastery goals declined across the school transition, but outcome goals remained high. Importantly, these five goals demonstrated distinct associations with student achievement, life satisfaction, and burnout. Outcome goals were linked to higher grades, mastery goals to greater well-being, performance-approach and performance-avoidance goals to lower well-being, and work-avoidance goals to lower grades and well-being. Findings underscore the importance of studying salient goals that students distinguish in authentic classrooms.Peer reviewe

INSTRUCT Symposium 2019

Slides from the first INSTRUCT symposium. Held June 2019 in the University of Cambridge Faculty of Education, Cambridge, U