Investigating the association of school type and gender with adolescent's mindsets

Abstract

Mindset is a key factor affecting personality and learning for adolescents, especially those living in countries focusing heavily on human resources, such as Korea, Singapore, and Hong Kong. We examined associations of fixed intelligence mindset, fixed creative mindset, students' gender and school type via a structural equation modeling. The sample included 301 Korean adolescents: students in their second year at a gifted high school, general high school students, and vocational high school students. To confirm construct validity and examine the associations of gender and school type with both fixed intelligent and creative mindsets, we fit a two-factor model within the structural equation model. We found significant associations of school type and gender with students' fixed intelligence mindset and fixed creative mindset. Three paths-gender -> fixed intelligence mindset, school type -> fixed intelligence mindset, and school type -> fixed creative mindset-were significant. In Western countries where mindset research originated and developed, there have already been efforts to manage students' mindsets with policies. However, Asian countries still lack understanding of and basic research on mindset management. Therefore, these countries should pay closer attention to policies regarding students' mindset management. Simultaneously, a practical school-level program is required to address the associations of school type and gender with student's mindsets revealed through this study.