How Do Students’ Mindsets in Learning Reflect their Cultural Values and Predict Academic Achievement?
Keywords:
Mindset; intelligence; giftedness; attribution; academic achievementAbstract
Inspired by previous research indicating implicit beliefs about
the malleability of human qualities, namely mindset, to affect learning
outcomes, this article compares how Chinese and Finnish students’
mindsets and attributions for success reflect their cultural values and
predict their academic achievement. The study was conducted in one
Chinese (N=705) and two Finnish (N=495) middle schools utilizing
Dweck’s mindset inventory, Weiner’s attribution scale and students’
school marks. The results illustrated that both Chinese and Finnish
students held a growth mindset, and all identified the nature of
intelligence as being more malleable than giftedness. However, Chinese
students did not differentiate between intelligence and giftedness as
clearly as Finnish students. Both students attributed the cause of their
academic achievements to effort and ability, but placed more emphasis
on effort. Furthermore, Chinese students’ preference for effort
significantly accounted for higher language marks, whereas Finnish
students with fixed mindsets about giftedness achieved higher
mathematics marks. Cultural interpretation, implications and limitations
of the results were discussed.
https://doi.org/10.26803/ijlter.18.5.8
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