Edinburgh Napier University

  Growth mindset has the power to transform the Scottish education system, raise attainment, and reduce income-related inequality in attainment. By empowering young people to be resilient, hard-working and ambitious, we can help them prepare for the future with confidence.
Growth mindset in schools is about helping young people understand mistakes, develop strategies to solve problems and persevere in the face of adversity – all critical to successful learning and attainment.
Since the visit of Professor Carol Dweck (the lead researcher of growth mindset) to Scotland in 2014, Winning Scotland Foundation has been working with Scottish Government, regional improvement collaboratives, local authorities, schools and educators to raise the awareness of growth mindset principles and also to develop and share practices that allow the effective application and integration of these principles in a school setting.
Having conducted a national audit of mindset awareness/demand in Scotland in 2016, it was clear to Winning Scotland Foundation that the Scottish education community understood that a growth mindset could create positive change in the long-term. However, the audit also found (following a survey of 343 participants) that 42% felt they faced challenges in developing growth mindsets, including resistance from parents and staff, and how to measure impact.