Among the education and psychology literature
that looks at the role of beliefs and school outcomes,
Growth Mindset theory (GM) posits that by helping
students shift their theory of learning to one where
intelligence isn’t a fixed state – but rather, that it’s
malleable, and something you can improve and grow
over time – students can become self-motivated to
improve both academic effort and outcomes. Teaching
youth how to foster a GM doesn’t just offer a potential
solution at low cost to student performance; it can
also change how youth approach other domains later
in life with crucial consequences for reducing poverty
and increasing equity, including improving labor
market outcomes.
In contexts where policy makers are looking for low-cost
and sustainable solutions to improve student outcomes,
behavioral science may offer a proven and scalable
solution in GM. In South Africa, the World Bank’s Mind,
Behavior, and Development Unit (eMBeD) partnered
with the Western Cape Government, the University of
California Davis, and Class Dojo to develop a series of
sessions and videos that would help primary and high
school students to develop a Growth Mindset. eMBeD’s
other GM interventions in Peru and Indonesia have
shown that, when adapted to the context, GM can have
extraordinary impact. We set out to see if the same would
hold true in South Africa.