Mindset profiles of secondary school students: Associations with academic achievement, motivation and school burnout symptoms

Background

According to Dweck's mindset theory, implicit beliefs (a.k.a. mindset) have an organizing function, bringing together mindset, achievement goals and effort beliefs in a broader meaning system. Two commonly described meaning systems are a growth-mindset meaning system with mastery goals and positive effort beliefs, and a fixed-mindset meaning system with performance goals and negative effort beliefs.

Aims

Because of assumed heterogeneity within these two meaning systems, we aim to (1) examine multiple-mindset profiles based on mindset, achievement goals and effort beliefs, by using a data-driven person-oriented approach, and (2) relate these different profiles to several outcome measures (academic achievement, motivation and school burnout symptoms).

Sample

Self-report questionnaire data were collected from 724 students (11.0–14.7 y.o.; 46.7% girl; 53.3% boy; M_age = 12.8 y.o.).

Methods

Latent profile analysis was conducted using mindset, achievement goals and effort beliefs.

Results

Four profiles were revealed: one fixed-mindset profile and three growth-mindset profiles, which differed in their performance goal levels (low, moderate and high). Growth-mindset students with low- or moderate-performance goals had more advantageous outcomes, for example, higher math grades and lower school burnout symptoms, compared to growth-mindset students with high-performance goals. Fixed-mindset students had the least advantageous outcomes, for example, lower grades, less intrinsic motivation and more school burnout symptoms.

Conclusions

Our study emphasizes the importance of taking a holistic approach when examining mindset meaning systems, revealing the importance of the level of performance goals and including multiple academic outcomes.