The Impact of a Growth Mindset on the Academic Performance and

Learning Motivation of Secondary School Students in China

Zhuoyu Cao

Faculty of Education, The University of Melbourne, Melbourne, 3051, Australia

Keywords: Growth Mindset, Motivation, Educational Psychology, Chinese Secondary School Students.

Abstract: The Growth mindset is a hot issue in educational psychology, and some researchers have found that the growth

mindset has a significant influence on Chinese secondary school students’ motivation and academic perfor-

mance. However, the scope and effect of its impact still lack a unified explanation. Therefore, this paper

examines the effect of a growth mindset on Chinese secondary school students’ learning motivation and aca-

demic performance. Using the literature review methodology, this study first elaborates on the definition and

characteristics of the growth mindset. Then, it analyzes the influences of a growth mindset on Chinese sec-

ondary school students’ studying motivation and academic performance respectively. Ultimately, it discusses

and concludes the whole study and makes some suggestions for future research. For instance, future studies

may concentrate more on long-term research that follows participants for several years to gain a more com-

prehensive understanding the role of a growth mindset. In conclusion, this paper finds out that the growth

mindset directly boosts the motivation of Chinese secondary school learners, while also indirectly contributing

to higher levels of scholastic performance.

1 INTRODUCTION

The growth mindset, recognized as a constructive

mental approach, has gained widespread application

in the field of education. Dweck (2010) first proposed

that individuals with growth mindsets believed that

through hard work, practice, and perseverance, they

could enhance and develop their abilities, especially

cognitive and academic skills. In contrast, those with

a fixed mindset tended to think that abilities were

innate and could hardly be changed. Over the past few

years, the growth mindset has been increasingly

gaining popularity in educational psychology

research, as it might promote students’ academic

performance and learning motivation.

China is widely known for its highly competitive

education system, and secondary school students face

tremendous academic pressure in the learning

process. The traditional Chinese education system,

which attaches great importance to rote

memorization, has been proven to give rise to the

development of a fixed mindset among students,

which means they tend to believe that their

intelligence is innate and can hardly be changed. This

pessimistic belief results in a decline in the level of

learning motivation and academic performance.

Therefore, it is of great importance to investigate how

a growth mindset impacts academic performance and

motivation among Chinese secondary school

students, as this could offer an alternative approach to

enhance students’ overall educational outcomes.

With the use of a literature review methodology,

this research will evaluate and analyze previous

research, illustrating the influences of the growth

mindset on the academic performance and motivation

of Chinese secondary school students. The findings

aim to provide educators with references to effective

teaching strategies that can enhance Chinese

secondary school students’ learning motivation and

educational performance.

2 INTRODUCTION TO THE

GROWTH MINDSET

This paragraph will provide an introduction to the

important psychological variable of the growth

mindset, briefly describing its definition,

characteristics, and role.

322

Cao, Z.

The Impact of a Growth Mindset on the Academic Performance and Learning Motivation of Secondary School Students in China.

DOI: 10.5220/0013984100004912

Paper published under CC license (CC BY-NC-ND 4.0)

In Proceedings of the 1st International Conference on Innovative Education and Social Development (IESD 2025), pages 322-327

ISBN: 978-989-758-779-5

2.1 Concept Introduction

When it comes to how individuals view intelligence

and learning, their perceptions can be generally

categorized into two views or attitudes, which can

also be referred to as two different mindsets. Dweck

demonstrates that individuals who hold a fixed

mindset always complain about their static and

unchangeable intelligence, which means they think

that intelligence is naturally determined by innate

factors such as genetics. In comparison, those with

the growth mindset regard intelligence as something

can be promoted over time through hard work, thus

enabling them to persist through difficulties and

challenges. Meanwhile, Dweck (2010) argues that

apart from intellectual variability, a growth mindset

can also encompass the emotional and cognitive

abilities. Furthermore, Ng further illustrates that

secondary school students with a growth mindset

would learn by a mastery approach. More precisely,

they are prone to reach an advanced level of self-

regulation to cope with difficult tasks and put in effort

to learn even after failures. Hence, encouraging a

growth mindset is instrumental in enhancing their

educational performance (Ng, 2018).

2.2 Characteristics

Students with a growth mindset generally share

several characteristics: belief in efforts, regarding

challenges as opportunities to progress, and positive

attitude toward educational feedback. The most

distinguishing feature of students who hold the

growth mindset is that they hold a firm belief in

efforts, as skills and capabilities can be steadily

improved with continuous effort. Students with a

fixed mindset regard intelligence as something innate

and unchangeable, therefore, they do not like effort

and view efforts as a waste of time. Alternatively,

those possessing a growth mindset realize that

competencies can be cultivated through ongoing

effort. Hence, when encountering obstacles during

the learning process, they would be motivated to

continuously work hard to overcome those

challenges, even if the progress is slow (Dweck,

2010).

The second characteristic is that students with the

growth mindset have a greater tendency to regard

failures as chances to learn rather than obstacles to

success. Research involving 3,000 American

secondary school students conducted by Yeager et al.

demonstrates that embracing challenges helps

individuals build confidence and resilience during the

course of learning, thus enabling learners who have a

growth mindset get better academic outcomes

(Yeager et al., 2016). To illustrate more, once

convinced that challenges provide the best

opportunities for development, students would push

their limits to enhance their capabilities rather than

stay in their comfort zones.

Another obvious feature would be the positive

attitude toward educational feedback. Individuals

adopting the fixed mindset may interpret feedback

from educators as negative criticism revealing their

drawbacks and inadequacy in learning, while those

with the growth mindset are more inclined to

welcome them as strategies for improvement (Dweck,

2010). Convinced that feedback from educators can

provide valuable insights, they would make necessary

adjustments to keep improving.

3 THE IMPACT OF THE

GROWTH MINDSET ON

ACADEMIC PERFORMANCE

AMONG CHINESE

SECONDARY SCHOOL

STUDENTS

According to the analysis of previous studies, it has

been confirmed that a growth mindset is beneficial to

scholastic performance among secondary school

students in China. Dweck (2010) first illustrates that

individuals with a growth mindset consider that their

skills can be progressively developed through

persistent effort, which means they regard challenges

as opportunities to learn, contributing to their

continuous progress and long-term success. The

measurement methods of this survey include

behavioral observations and interviews, and the data

analysis methods involve case studies and

comparative analysis. Findings indicate that the

growth mindset can contribute to students’ academic

achievement due to their resilience and optimism

when facing failures and challenges. However, one of

the obvious limitations of this study is the cultural

bias, as a growth mindset has varying effects on

students in different learning environments.

Consequently, future studies may further investigate

the specific impacts of the growth mindset within a

certain learning environment.

In Chinese secondary schools, students’ academic

performance is a crucial indicator of their abilities and

their potential for advancement to higher education.

As a result, plenty of literature has explored the

relationship between the growth mindset and the

The Impact of a Growth Mindset on the Academic Performance and Learning Motivation of Secondary School Students in China

323

educational performance of Chinese secondary

school students. A survey conducted by Wang et al.

involves adolescents aged between 12 and 16 from

several secondary schools in China (Wang et al.,

2020). The methodology of this research involves the

Theories of Intelligence scale developed by Carol

Dweck, students’ academic grades, and Sherman’s

self-affirmation scale. When it comes to the data

analysis methods, Wang et al. apply the structural

equation modeling to figure out the association

between the growth mindset and students’ academic

grades. Meanwhile, moderation analysis was also

used to explore how self-affirmation moderates the

influence of a growth mindset on students’ learning

outcomes, as self-affirmation can help students

maintain positive self-evaluations to enhance their

performance in academic contexts. This research

suggests that Chinese secondary school students with

the growth mindset are prone to have higher degrees

of self-affirmation that can significantly enhance their

cognitive abilities and emotional resilience,

ultimately improving their academic outcomes.

However, limitations include that apart from the

influence of a growth mindset, the potential self-

report bias, to be more specific, factors like diverse

school environments may also have an impact on

students’ academic performance. Therefore, to get

more exact results, future research should incorporate

objective measures to decrease the potential self-

report bias. Similarly, the research conducted by Yun-

Fang also reveals students with growth mindsets

usually present stronger critical thinking abilities.

This mediating variable enables students to address

complex issues with greater creativity and

adaptability, thus leading to extraordinary learning

outcomes (Yun-Fang, 2024).

Compared to exploring the interaction effects of

students’ inner abilities, King et al. (2021) focus more

on their outer background, analyzing the association

between the growth mindset and educational

outcomes, particularly focusing on how

socioeconomic status (SES) moderates this

relationship. The measurement methods of this

survey include the Theories of Intelligence scale

conducted by Carol Dweck, students; academic

performance measured by standardized test scores,

and SES assessed through parental occupation and

income. As for the data analysis methods, the authors

regulate variables such as the grade level that may

influence academic performance. Findings illustrate

that the growth mindset can only predicted academic

results for students with wealthy parents, which

means economic resources and family support may

buffer or enhance students’ academic success.

However, limitations of this research include the

limited SES measurement and individual differences.

On the one hand, King and Trinidad ignored factors

like community environment and school resources

that may also impact the SES of students. On the other

hand, individual differences like personal motivation

levels and characteristics were not fully addressed in

the analysis. Consequently, future studies should

more fully consider the factors that influence

students’ SES while taking into account individual

differences, which can provide a more accurate

measurement of the connection between a growth

mindset and Chinese secondary school students’

academic performance.

Above all, these studies all select a moderating

variable to look into the relationship between the

growth mindset and students’ educational outcomes,

including inner abilities as well as outer factors, and

they all agree that the growth mindset can positively

influence Chinese secondary school students’

academic performance. Therefore, it is now clear that

adopting a growth mindset is highly recommended

for secondary school students in China, future

research may concentrate on how to help students

cultivate this mindset to enhance their educational

performance. For example, make better use of

collective methods including government, schools

and teachers to guide students to adjust their

mindsets.

4 THE IMPACT OF THE

GROWTH MINDSET ON

LEARNING MOTIVATION

AMONG CHINESE

SECONDARY SCHOOL

STUDENTS

When considering the link between a growth mindset

and the learning motivation of Chinese secondary

school students, numerous studies have illustrated

that the growth mindset could contribute to the boost

of learning motivation. By using regression analysis,

Dweck (2013) first illustrates that a growth mindset

has a constructive influence on learning motivation.

With a higher level of persistence, students with the

growth mindset are more disposed to undertake

efforts-demanding tasks and consider challenges as

opportunities to learn. This way, they will foster

greater intrinsic motivation than those possessing the

fixed mindset. Moreover, Rhew et al. (2018) further

confirm that the growth mindset has a constructive

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and long-lasting impact on secondary school

students’ learning motivation, especially the reading

motivation. The researchers administer a

questionnaire on reading motivation to 1,920

secondary school students, which consisted of 53

questions on a Likert-type scale of 1 to 4. Meanwhile,

they also conduct a controlled experiment using the

growth mindset intervention. Students in the

comparison group exhibited a fixed mindset, while

those in the treatment group underwent a six-week

intervention aimed at promoting a growth mindset.

The results of this experiment revealed a significant

difference between the two groups, with students in

the treatment group demonstrating notably higher

levels of reading motivation compared to their

counterparts in the comparison group. These findings

suggest that fostering a growth mindset can positively

influence the study motivation of secondary school

students. Although researchers employed various

analytical models to validate the conclusions, the

research still has limitations. For instance, this growth

mindset intervention was short-term, therefore, it can

hardly examine the lasting impact of a growth

mindset. Therefore, future research may carry out

long-term experiments to guarantee the accuracy of

the result.

Another research conducted by Zhao et al. (2018)

also demonstrates that a growth mindset can

beneficially affect the learning motivation of Chinese

secondary school students. This study involves 1,842

students across various grade levels from several

secondary schools in a Chinese city, and it

administers the Self-Regulation Questionnaire

invented by Ryan and Connell to measure each

student’s learning motivations. With analyses of the

descriptive statistics and correlations, this study

indicates that students possessing a growth mindset

tend to obtain a higher degree of self-directed

motivation to learn, as the growth mindset enables

individuals to view failures as chances to progress.

This finding corresponds with earlier research

outcomes that the growth mindset is beneficial for

learning motivations among Chinese secondary

school students. However, it cannot be denied that

this study faces several limitations, the most apparent

one would be the ignorance of cultural difference.

Influenced by Confucianism, Chinese students tend to

consider expectations of others as expectations of

their own motivation, which may disrupt the results

of learning motivation. Thus, future research may

study the relationships between a growth mindset and

learning motivations in cross-cultural contexts.

To illustrate further, Dong et al. (2023) delineate

two main types of motivation, and they highlight that

Chinese secondary school students possessing a

growth mindset have a greater tendency to obtain

stronger intrinsic motivation in the mathematics

learning process. With 266 secondary school students

in China ranging from grade 7 to grade 9 involved,

the researchers used the questionnaire in the Program

for International Student Assessment (PISA) 2009

survey to analyze students’ intrinsic learning

motivation toward mathematics. Findings indicate

that the learning motivation can be divided into the

intrinsic motivation like personal interest, and the

extrinsic motivation such as family expectations or

external rewards. Generally, the intrinsic motivation

is more effective and powerful than the extrinsic

motivation. Meanwhile, students holding growth

mindsets will have intrinsic learning motivations

while those with the fixed mindset are prone to be

motivated by external factors. Therefore, the study

concluded that Chinese secondary school students

holding the growth mindset were more disposed to

display enhanced motivation, which is similar to

previous research results. The most obvious

limitation is that researchers only measured the

motivation in grade 7 students, which means further

studies need to collect the data more

comprehensively. In addition to the research

mentioned before, a study conducted by Bai and

Wang (2023) also illustrates that a growth mindset is

of great benefit to students’ learning motivation

during self-regulated studying. With a total of 690

students participating in, researchers used the

intrinsic value scale to examine students’ learning

motivation. The findings explore that growth

mindsets are positively associated with the degree of

students’ learning motivation, demonstrating that

students possessing a growth mindset will show

stronger motivation during the learning process than

those with a fixed mindset.

Overall, previous studies confirm that a growth

mindset and the learning motivation are positively

related, which means learners who possess a growth

mindset are more inclined to have higher motivation

during the course of learning. This finding has

important implications for educators to motivate

Chinese secondary school students to learn.

5 DISCUSSION AND

SUGGESTION

After reviewing and analyzing the relevant research,

it was clear that for secondary school students in

China, developing a growth mindset will

The Impact of a Growth Mindset on the Academic Performance and Learning Motivation of Secondary School Students in China

325

constructively influence the academic performance.

However, it should be noted that these studies all

select a moderating variable, such as inner self-

affirmation or outer background. This suggests that a

growth mindset indirectly influences secondary

school learners’ academic performance with the help

of other variables, thus further illustrating the close

connection between a growth mindset and learners’

educational performance. Therefore, in terms of

suggestions, it is highly recommended for educators

to strengthen the cultivation of the growth mindset

among Chinese secondary school learners. Schools

can guide students to cultivate a growth mindset

through positive class interactions. For instance,

teachers can provide positive feedback in time,

highlighting the importance of personal efforts rather

than grades (Wang et al., 2020). This may encourage

students to regard failures as opportunities for

success. Moreover, it is also significant to enhance

family support. Parents should encourage children to

learn from failures and place greater emphasis on the

process rather than results, thus enabling children to

be more self-confident and optimistic towards

studying.

Regarding the connection between the growth

mindset and students’ motivation to learn, the

previous research indicates that Chinese secondary

school learners with the growth mindset are prone to

have a generally higher degree of learning motivation

than students who do not possess it. With better

persistence, they are more motivated to participate in

challenging tasks such as mathematics studying and

article analyzing. Therefore, teachers and parents

should cooperate to establish a supportive learning

environment (Zhao et al., 2018). In this environment,

students would feel more optimistic during the

educational process, thus enhancing the cultivation of

a growth mindset.

Despite the relevant research demonstrating the

impact of the growth mindset, several areas still

require further investigation. On the one hand, some

current studies rely on short-term data, which means

the long-term results can hardly be observed. Hence,

future research may concentrate more on long-term

studies that observe participants for years or decades

to have a better insight in the role of a growth mindset.

On the other hand, future research may explore the

direct connection between a growth mindset and

learners’ academic performance, as most of the recent

studies concentrated on a moderating variable

between them.

6 CONCLUSION

In conclusion, the purpose of this study is to

investigate the impact of a growth mindset on the

academic performance and learning motivation of

secondary school students in China. After

comprehensively analyzing the relevant literature,

this study figures out that the growth mindset has a

direct constructive influence on the studying

motivation of Chinese secondary school students,

meanwhile, it can indirectly enhance their academic

performance. Based on these findings, the paper

argues that it is highly recommended for educators to

promote the development of a growth mindset among

secondary school students in China. However, there

are several limitations in this essay including the lack

of long-term effects of a growth mindset, since most

research involves short-term outcomes. Therefore,

further studies may focus more on longitudinal

studies that track participants over several years to

gain a deeper understanding of the influence of a

growth mindset.

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