Positive academic mindsets increase perseverance and academic behaviors, yielding higher grades; negative mindsets produce a self-defeating cycle¶

Claim · All claims
Evidence · 1 study · review r2 · q2
Currency · newest study 2012 · checked against its sources 2026-10-08 (automated, 1 of 1 entry) · not reviewed by a person

Subclaims¶

q2 i? The review reports evidence that each of the four academic mindsets increases academic perseverance and improves academic behaviors, leading to better performance as measured by higher grades. → Farrington 2012

Evidence¶

Farrington 2012¶

Farrington, C.A., Roderick, M., Allensworth, E., Nagaoka, J., Keyes, T.S., Johnson, D.W., & Beechum, N.O. (2012). Teaching adolescents to become learners. The role of noncognitive factors in shaping school performance: A critical literature review. Chicago: University of Chicago Consortium on Chicago School Research. https://consortium.uchicago.edu/publications/teaching-adolescents-become-learners-role-noncognitive-factors-shaping-school

q2 · i? · review · r2

Review synthesis in Chapter 2 of psychological evidence on mindsets. The review also describes a reciprocal negative loop: negative mindsets stifle perseverance and undermine behaviors, resulting in poor performance that reinforces the negative mindsets.

"Overall, the evidence clearly demonstrates that the four academic mindsets outlined above each increase students' academic perseverance and improve academic behaviors, leading to better performance as measured by higher grades."

Discussion¶

Learner Variables¶

• Mindset — predictor: learners who differ on it differ in outcomes

Related Claims¶

• The meta-analytic correlation between growth mind-set and academic achievement is weak (r = .10) — the general claim this finding bears on, with the studies behind it
• Academic behaviors have the most immediate effect on course grades; directly targeting grit is not an evidenced lever — related
• Learners' task-specific self-efficacy beliefs predict whether they initiate, persist through, and recover from difficulty on academic tasks. — related
• Learners invest more effort in tasks they perceive as interesting, personally important, or useful to their future goals. — related
• Students with a stronger sense of belonging tend to show more academic self-confidence, motivation, engagement and achievement (review reports Pedler et al.) — related
• Students with more positively oriented academic mindsets show better academic behaviors and earn better grades than students for whom the mindset beliefs do not feel true — possibly the same claim (merge candidate)
• When a strong sense of self-efficacy is accompanied by sustained student effort, better academic achievement is likely — related
• Social-emotional factors, including low academic self-efficacy and self-management, are related to rapid guessing behavior — related
• A CCSR research review concludes that four academic mindsets (belonging, growth beliefs, self-efficacy and value) increase perseverance and improve academic behaviors — possibly the same claim (merge candidate)
• Noncognitive factors have a direct positive relationship to students' school performance and future outcomes — a broader claim this one bears on
• The framework's literature review reports students' academic mindsets, learning strategies, perseverance, and behaviors were clearly and significantly related to school performance — related
• The effect of social skills on academic performance is unclear; poor social skills are clearly associated with negative outcomes — related
• Problem-based learning connecting coursework and practice is associated with stronger candidate skill development and self-efficacy — related
• 66% of Los Padillas students reported a sense of belonging in 2023–24, well above the 44% for students in the rest of the district — a narrower finding that bears on this claim
• Pre-actional metacognitive, motivational, and positive-emotional components are positively associated with regulatory behavior in the actional phase, while anger and anxiety are negatively associated — related
• Math mindsets and academic grit correlate substantially with primary math achievement — a narrower finding that bears on this claim
• Students with positive perceptions of the instrumentality of schoolwork for future goals are more motivated, use more effective learning strategies, and perform better in school — related
• Belonging uncertainty — the instability of a student's sense of belonging — is distinct from overall belonging level and predicts risk of negative outcomes — related
• The need to belong is relevant to all academic disciplines that study human behavior, with immense importance to educational psychology — related
• Classroom environment is positively associated with students' self-reported motivation and other noncognitive factors within students — related
• Non-tested outcomes are predicted by teaching practices most proximal to these measures, including teachers' emotional support and classroom organization — related
• Within-student differences in noncognitive factors are associated with differences in course grades across the same student's classes — a narrower finding that bears on this claim
• Personal resources have a reciprocal relationship with study resources and relate to engagement and achievement — related
• Sense of belonging in learning contexts is robustly associated with psychological well-being, academic motivation, and academic performance — related