Abstract
In school settings, students’ mindset about intelligence (i.e., fixed versus growth mindset) and their sense of belonging to school (SBS) have both been shown to predict academic attainment. However, these constructs have rarely been examined together although both were found to be impacted by students’ socioeconomic status (SES). Across the literature, findings are inconsistent concerning this moderating effect of SES. In the present preregistered study, we used data from the French sample of the Programme for International Student Assessment 2018 (PISA; N = 6308) to examine whether growth mindset positively predicted SBS and whether this association was moderated by students’ SES. Results showed that growth mindset was positively associated with SBS. On the confirmatory linear regression analyses, we found no moderation effect of any of the SES indicators on the association between growth mindset and SBS. However, pre-registered supplementary multigroup analyses showed descriptively that this association was stronger for high than for low SES students and notably when SES indicators concerned family financial resources. Limitations of this research and perspectives for future studies are discussed, with a focus on why the literature should care about the different meanings and consequences of SES indicators.
Similar content being viewed by others
Notes
As preregistered, we also conducted multilevel analyses based on Block 4 including school-level. Results are similar to those obtained in the main analyses. Further developments are available in the Online Resource.
References
Allen, K., Kern, M. L., Vella-Brodrick, D., Hattie, J., & Waters, L. (2018). What schools need to know about fostering school belonging: A meta-analysis. Educational Psychology Review, 30(1), 1–34. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10648-016-9389-8
Allen, K.-A., Cordoba, B. G., Parks, A., & Arslan, G. (2022). Does socioeconomic status moderate the relationship between school belonging and school-related factors in Australia? Child Indicators Research, 15(5), 1741–1759. https://doi.org/10.1007/s12187-022-09927-3
Anderman, L. H. (2003). Academic and social perceptions as predictors of change in middle school students’ sense of school belonging. The Journal of Experimental Education, 72(1), 5–22. https://doi.org/10.1080/00220970309600877
Atlay, C., Tieben, N., Fauth, B., & Hillmert, S. (2019). The role of socioeconomic background and prior achievement for students’ perception of teacher support. British Journal of Sociology of Education, 40(7), 970–991. https://doi.org/10.1080/01425692.2019.1642737
Avvisati, F. (2020). The measure of socio-economic status in PISA: A review and some suggested improvements. Large-Scale Assessments in Education, 8(1), 8. https://doi.org/10.1186/s40536-020-00086-x
Bahník, Š, & Vranka, M. A. (2017). Growth mindset is not associated with scholastic aptitude in a large sample of university applicants. Personality and Individual Differences, 117, 139–143. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.paid.2017.05.046
Bakchich, J., Carré, A., Claes, N., & Smeding, A. (2023). The moderating role of socioeconomic status on the relationship between teacher social support and sense of belonging to school. British Journal of Educational Psychology, 93(1), 153–166. https://doi.org/10.1111/bjep.12545
Batruch, A., Jetten, J., Van de Werfhorst, H., Darnon, C., & Butera, F. (2023). Belief in school meritocracy and the legitimization of social and income inequality. Social Psychological and Personality Science, 4(5), 621–635. https://doi.org/10.1177/19485506221111017
Bernardo, A. B. I. (2021). Socioeconomic status moderates the relationship between growth mindset and learning in mathematics and science: Evidence from PISA 2018 Philippine data. International Journal of School & Educational Psychology, 9(2), 208–222. https://doi.org/10.1080/21683603.2020.1832635
Bond, L., Butler, H., Thomas, L., Carlin, J., Glover, S., Bowes, G., & Patton, G. (2007). Social and School connectedness in early secondary school as predictors of late teenage substance use, mental health, and academic outcomes. Journal of Adolescent Health, 40(4), 357.e9–357.e18. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jadohealth.2006.10.013
Bostwick, K. C. P., Collie, R. J., Martin, A. J., & Durksen, T. L. (2017). Students’ growth mindsets, goals, and academic outcomes in mathematics. Zeitschrift für Psychologie, 225(2), 107–116. https://doi.org/10.1027/2151-2604/a000287
Bourdieu, P. (2011). The forms of capital (1986). In I. Szeman & T. Kaposy (Eds.), Cultural theory: An anthology (pp. 81–93). Wiley Blackwell.
Bourdieu, P., & Passeron, J.-C. (1970). La reproduction [The reproduction]. Les Édition de Minuit.
Brez, C., Hampton, E. M., Behrendt, L., Brown, L., & Powers, J. (2020). Failure to replicate: Testing a growth mindset intervention for college student success. Basic and Applied Social Psychology, 42(6), 460–468. https://doi.org/10.1080/01973533.2020.1806845
Burnette, J. L., Russell, M. V., Hoyt, C. L., Orvidas, K., & Widman, L. (2018). An online growth mindset intervention in a sample of rural adolescent girls. British Journal of Educational Psychology, 88(3), 428–445. https://doi.org/10.1111/bjep.12192
Calarco, J. M. (2011). “I need help!” Social class and children’s help-seeking in elementary school. American Sociological Review, 76(6), 862–882. https://doi.org/10.1177/0003122411427177
Chen, J. A., & Pajares, F. (2010). Implicit theories of ability of Grade 6 science students: Relation to epistemological beliefs and academic motivation and achievement in science. Contemporary Educational Psychology, 35(1), 75–87. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.cedpsych.2009.10.003
Chin, T., & Phillips, M. (2004). Social reproduction and child-rearing practices: Social class, children’s agency, and the summer activity gap. Sociology of Education, 77(3), 185–210. https://doi.org/10.1177/003804070407700301
Claro, S., Paunesku, D., & Dweck, C. S. (2016). Growth mindset tempers the effects of poverty on academic achievement. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, 113(31), 8664–8668. https://doi.org/10.1073/pnas.1608207113
Corradi, D., Nicolaï, J., & Levrau, F. (2019). Growth mindset and its predictive validity—Do migration background and academic validation matter? Higher Education, 77(3), 491–504. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10734-018-0286-6
Costa, A., & Faria, L. (2018). Implicit theories of intelligence and academic achievement: A meta-analytic review. Frontiers in Psychology, 9, 829. https://doi.org/10.3389/fpsyg.2018.00829
Croizet, J.-C., Goudeau, S., Marot, M., & Millet, M. (2017). How do educational contexts contribute to the social class achievement gap: Documenting symbolic violence from a social psychological point of view. Current Opinion in Psychology, 18, 105–110. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.copsyc.2017.08.025
Cury, F., Elliot, A. J., Da Fonseca, D., & Moller, A. C. (2006). The social-cognitive model of achievement motivation and the 2 × 2 achievement goal framework. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 90(4), 666–679. https://doi.org/10.1037/0022-3514.90.4.666
Da Fonseca, D., Cury, F., Fakra, E., Rufo, M., Poinso, F., Bounoua, L., & Huguet, P. (2008). Implicit theories of intelligence and IQ test performance in adolescents with Generalized Anxiety Disorder. Behaviour Research and Therapy, 46(4), 529–536. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.brat.2008.01.006
Destin, M., Hanselman, P., Buontempo, J., Tipton, E., & Yeager, D. S. (2019). Do student mindsets differ by socioeconomic status and explain disparities in academic achievement in the United States? AERA Open, 5(3), 233285841985770. https://doi.org/10.1177/2332858419857706
Diemer, M. A., & Li, C.-H. (2012). Longitudinal roles of precollege contexts in low-income youths’ postsecondary persistence. Developmental Psychology, 48(6), 1686–1693. https://doi.org/10.1037/a0025347
Diemer, M. A., Mistry, R. S., Wadsworth, M. E., López, I., & Reimers, F. (2013). Best practices in conceptualizing and measuring social class in psychological research: Social class measurement. Analyses of Social Issues and Public Policy, 13(1), 77–113. https://doi.org/10.1111/asap.12001
Dittmann, A. G., Stephens, N. M., & Townsend, S. S. M. (2020). Achievement is not class-neutral: Working together benefits people from working-class contexts. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 119(3), 517–539. https://doi.org/10.1037/pspa0000194
Dixson, D. D. (2020). How hope measures up: Hope predicts school variables beyond growth mindset and school belonging. Current Psychology. https://doi.org/10.1007/s12144-020-00975-y
Dixson, D. D., Roberson, C. C. B., & Worrell, F. C. (2017). Psychosocial keys to African American achievement? Examining the relationship between achievement and psychosocial variables in high achieving African Americans. Journal of Advanced Academics, 28(2), 120–140. https://doi.org/10.1177/1932202X17701734
Dweck, C. S. (2006). Mindset: The new psychology of success. Ballantine Books.
Dweck, C. S., Chiu, C., & Hong, Y. (1995). Implicit theories and their role in judgments and reactions: A word from two perspectives. Psychological Inquiry, 6(4), 267–285. https://doi.org/10.1207/s15327965pli0604_1
Dweck, C. S., & Yeager, D. S. (2019). Mindsets: A view from two eras. Perspectives on Psychological Science, 14(3), 481–496. https://doi.org/10.1177/1745691618804166
Easterbrook, M. J., Kuppens, T., & Grigoryan, L. (2023). Introduction to the special issue: Nuances of social class and socioeconomic status (Introducción a este monográfico: los matices del concepto de clase social y del nivel socioeconómico). International Journal of Social Psychology; Revista de Psicología Social, 38(3), 493–507. https://doi.org/10.1080/02134748.2023.2239577
Fong Lam, U., Chen, W.-W., Zhang, J., & Liang, T. (2015). It feels good to learn where I belong: School belonging, academic emotions, and academic achievement in adolescents. School Psychology International, 36(4), 393–409. https://doi.org/10.1177/0143034315589649
Gonzalez, A. M., Macchia, L., & Whillans, A. V. (2022). The developmental origins and behavioral consequences of attributions for inequality. Journal of Experimental Social Psychology, 101, 104329. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jesp.2022.104329
Goodenow, C. (1993). The psychological sense of school membership among adolescents: Scale development and educational correlates. Psychology in the Schools, 30(1), 79–90. https://doi.org/10.1002/1520-6807(199301)30:1%3c79::AID-PITS2310300113%3e3.0.CO;2-X
Goudeau, S. (2020). Comment l’école reproduit-elle les inégalités? Egalité des chances-Réussite-Psychologie sociale. [How does school reproduce inequalities? Equal opportunities-success-social psychology] PUG.
Goudeau, S., Autin, F., & Croizet, J.-C. (2017). Etudier, mesurer et manipuler la classe sociale en psychologie sociale : approches économiques, symboliques et culturelles [Studying, measuring and manipulating social class in social psychology: Economic, symbolic and cultural approaches]. International Review of Social Psychology, 30(1), 1–19. https://doi.org/10.5334/irsp.52
Grüning, D. J., Rammstedt, B., & Lechner, C. M. (2023). Fixed is not the opposite of growth: Item keying matters for measuring mindsets [Preprint]. PsyArXiv. https://doi.org/10.31234/osf.io/ye8zp
Joyce, H. D. (2019). Does school connectedness mediate the relationship between teacher support and depressive symptoms? Children & Schools, 41(1), 7–16. https://doi.org/10.1093/cs/cdy024
Jury, M., Aelenei, C., Chen, C., Darnon, C., & Elliot, A. J. (2019). Examining the role of perceived prestige in the link between students’ subjective socioeconomic status and sense of belonging. Group Processes & Intergroup Relations, 22(3), 356–370. https://doi.org/10.1177/1368430219827361
King, R. B., & Trinidad, J. E. (2021). Growth mindset predicts achievement only among rich students: Examining the interplay between mindset and socioeconomic status. Social Psychology of Education, 24(3), 635–652. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11218-021-09616-z
Kroeper, K. M., Fried, A. C., & Murphy, M. C. (2022). Towards fostering growth mindset classrooms: Identifying teaching behaviors that signal instructors’ fixed and growth mindsets beliefs to students. Social Psychology of Education, 25(2–3), 371–398. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11218-022-09689-4
LaCosse, J., Murphy, M. C., Garcia, J. A., & Zirkel, S. (2021). The role of STEM professors’ mindset beliefs on students’ anticipated psychological experiences and course interest. Journal of Educational Psychology, 113(5), 949–971. https://doi.org/10.1037/edu0000620
Lam, K. K. L., & Zhou, M. (2020). A serial mediation model testing growth mindset, life satisfaction, and perceived distress as predictors of perseverance of effort. Personality and Individual Differences, 167, 110262. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.paid.2020.110262
Lareau, A. (2011). Unequal childhoods class, race, and family life. University of California Press. http://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&scope=site&db=nlebk&AN=386083
Lester, L., Waters, S., & Cross, D. (2013). The relationship between school connectedness and mental health during the transition to secondary school: A path analysis. Australian Journal of Guidance and Counselling, 23(2), 157–171. https://doi.org/10.1017/jgc.2013.20
Li, Y., & Bates, T. C. (2019). You can’t change your basic ability, but you work at things, and that’s how we get hard things done: Testing the role of growth mindset on response to setbacks, educational attainment, and cognitive ability. Journal of Experimental Psychology: General, 148(9), 1640–1655. https://doi.org/10.1037/xge0000669
Macnamara, B. (2018). Schools are buying "growth mindset" interventions despite scant evidence that they work well. The Conversation. http://theconversation.com/schools-are-buying-growth-mindset-interventions-despite-scant-evidence-that-they-work-well-96001
Macnamara, B. N., & Rupani, N. S. (2017). The relationship between intelligence and mindset. Intelligence, 64, 52–59. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.intell.2017.07.003
Manstead, A. S. R. (2018). The psychology of social class: How socioeconomic status impacts thought, feelings, and behaviour. British Journal of Social Psychology, 57(2), 267–291. https://doi.org/10.1111/bjso.12251
McCabe, K. O., & Fleeson, W. (2016). Are traits useful? Explaining trait manifestations as tools in the pursuit of goals. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 110(2), 287–301. https://doi.org/10.1037/a0039490
Millings, A., Buck, R., Montgomery, A., Spears, M., & Stallard, P. (2012). School connectedness, peer attachment, and self-esteem as predictors of adolescent depression. Journal of Adolescence, 35(4), 1061–1067. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.adolescence.2012.02.015
Moreau, D. (2022). How malleable are cognitive abilities? A critical perspective on popular brief interventions. American Psychologist, 77(3), 409–423. https://doi.org/10.1037/amp0000872
Muenks, K., Canning, E. A., LaCosse, J., Green, D. J., Zirkel, S., Garcia, J. A., & Murphy, M. C. (2020). Does my professor think my ability can change? Students’ perceptions of their STEM professors’ mindset beliefs predict their psychological vulnerability, engagement, and performance in class. Journal of Experimental Psychology: General, 149(11), 2119–2144. https://doi.org/10.1037/xge0000763
Murray, J. M., Komissarov, S., Cook, S. L., & Murray, B. L. (2022). Predictors for growth mindset and sense of belonging in college students. Journal of Pedagogical Sociology and Psychology, 4(1), 65–85. https://doi.org/10.33902/JPSP.202213791
Neel, C.G.-O., & Fuligni, A. (2013). A longitudinal study of school belonging and academic motivation across high school. Child Development, 84(2), 678–692. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1467-8624.2012.01862.x
OECD. (2016). PISA 2015 Results (Volume I): Excellence and Equity in Education. OECD. https://doi.org/10.1787/9789264266490-en
OECD. (2019a). PISA 2018 Results (Volume II): Where All Students Can Succeed. OECD. https://doi.org/10.1787/b5fd1b8f-en
OECD. (2019b). PISA 2018 Results (Volume III): What School Life Means for Students’ Lives. OECD. https://doi.org/10.1787/acd78851-en
Ostrove, J. M., & Long, S. M. (2007). Social class and belonging: Implications for college adjustment. The Review of Higher Education, 30(4), 363–389. https://doi.org/10.1353/rhe.2007.0028
Pate, C. M., Maras, M. A., Whitney, S. D., & Bradshaw, C. P. (2017). Exploring psychosocial mechanisms and interactions: Links between adolescent emotional distress, school connectedness, and educational achievement. School Mental Health, 9(1), 28–43. https://doi.org/10.1007/s12310-016-9202-3
Paunesku, D., Walton, G. M., Romero, C., Smith, E. N., Yeager, D. S., & Dweck, C. S. (2015). Mind-set interventions are a scalable treatment for academic underachievement. Psychological Science, 26(6), 784–793. https://doi.org/10.1177/0956797615571017
Pikulski, P. J., Pella, J. E., Casline, E. P., Hale, A. E., Drake, K., & Ginsburg, G. S. (2020). School connectedness and child anxiety. Journal of Psychologists and Counsellors in Schools, 30(1), 13–24. https://doi.org/10.1017/jgc.2020.3
Puente-Díaz, R., & Cavazos-Arroyo, J. (2017). The influence of creative mindsets on achievement goals, enjoyment, creative self-efficacy and performance among business students. Thinking Skills and Creativity, 24, 1–11. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.tsc.2017.02.007
R Core Team (2021). R: A language and environment for statistical computing. R Foundation for Statistical Computing, Vienna, Austria. https://www.R-project.org/
Rammstedt, B., Grüning, D. J., & Lechner, C. M. (2022). Measuring growth mindset: Validation of a three-item and a single-item scale in adolescents and adults. European Journal of Psychological Assessment, 40(1), 84–95. https://doi.org/10.1027/1015-5759/a000735
Rege, M., Hanselman, P., Solli, I. F., Dweck, C. S., Ludvigsen, S., Bettinger, E., Crosnoe, R., Muller, C., Walton, G., Duckworth, A., & Yeager, D. S. (2021). How can we inspire nations of learners? An investigation of growth mindset and challenge-seeking in two countries. American Psychologist, 6(5), 755–767. https://doi.org/10.1037/amp0000647
Renaud-Dubé, A., Guay, F., Talbot, D., Taylor, G., & Koestner, R. (2015). The relations between implicit intelligence beliefs, autonomous academic motivation, and school persistence intentions: A mediation model. Social Psychology of Education, 18(2), 255–272. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11218-014-9288-0
Rodríguez, S., Valle, A., Gironelli, L. M., Guerrero, E., Regueiro, B., & Estévez, I. (2020). Performance and well-being of native and immigrant students. Comparative analysis based on PISA 2018. Journal of Adolescence, 85, 96–105. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.adolescence.2020.10.001
Rubin, M. (2012). Social class differences in social integration among students in higher education: A meta-analysis and recommendations for future research. Journal of Diversity in Higher Education, 5(1), 22–38. https://doi.org/10.1037/a0026162
Scherer, R., & Campos, D. G. (2022). Measuring those who have their minds set: An item-level meta-analysis of the implicit theories of intelligence scale in education. Educational Research Review, 37, 100479. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.edurev.2022.100479
Shedlosky-Shoemaker, R., & Fautch, J. M. (2015). Who leaves, who stays? Psychological predictors of undergraduate chemistry students’ persistence. Journal of Chemical Education, 92(3), 408–414. https://doi.org/10.1021/ed500571j
Shih, S.-S. (2021). Factors related to Taiwanese adolescents’ academic engagement and achievement goal orientations. The Journal of Educational Research, 114(1), 1–12. https://doi.org/10.1080/00220671.2020.1861584
Shively, R. L., & Ryan, C. S. (2013). Longitudinal changes in college math students’ implicit theories of intelligence. Social Psychology of Education, 16(2), 241–256. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11218-012-9208-0
Sirin, S. R. (2005). Socioeconomic status and academic achievement: A meta-analytic review of research. Review of Educational Research, 75(3), 417–453. https://doi.org/10.3102/00346543075003417
Sisk, V. F., Burgoyne, A. P., Sun, J., Butler, J. L., & Macnamara, B. N. (2018). To what extent and under which circumstances are growth mind-sets important to academic achievement? Two Meta-Analyses. Psychological Science, 29(4), 549–571. https://doi.org/10.1177/0956797617739704
Spruyt, B. (2015). Talent, effort or social background? An empirical assessment of popular explanations for educational outcomes. European Societies, 17(1), 94–114. https://doi.org/10.1080/14616696.2014.977323
Stebleton, M. J., Soria, K. M., & Huesman, R. L. (2014). First-generation students’ sense of belonging, mental health, and use of counseling services at public research universities. Journal of College Counseling, 17(1), 6–20. https://doi.org/10.1002/j.2161-1882.2014.00044.x
Stephens, N. M., Fryberg, S. A., Markus, H. R., Johnson, C. S., & Covarrubias, R. (2012). Unseen disadvantage: How American universities’ focus on independence undermines the academic performance of first-generation college students. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 102(6), 1178–1197. https://doi.org/10.1037/a0027143
Stephens, N. M., Markus, H. R., & Phillips, L. T. (2014). Social class culture cycles: How three gateway contexts shape selves and fuel inequality. Annual Review of Psychology, 65(1), 611–634. https://doi.org/10.1146/annurev-psych-010213-115143
Stephens, N. M., Markus, H. R., & Townsend, S. S. M. (2007). Choice as an act of meaning: The case of social class. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 93(5), 814–830. https://doi.org/10.1037/0022-3514.93.5.814
Sun, K. L. (2019). The mindset disconnect in mathematics teaching: A qualitative analysis of classroom instruction. The Journal of Mathematical Behavior, 56, 100706. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jmathb.2019.04.005
Trawalter, S., Hoffman, K., & Palmer, L. (2021). Out of place: Socioeconomic status, use of public space, and belonging in higher education. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 120(1), 131–144. https://doi.org/10.1037/pspi0000248
Warren, F., Mason-Apps, E., Hoskins, S., Devonshire, V., & Chanvin, M. (2019). The relationship between implicit theories of intelligence, attainment and socio-demographic factors in a UK sample of primary school children. British Educational Research Journal, 45(4), 736–754. https://doi.org/10.1002/berj.3523
Yeager, D. S., Carroll, J. M., Buontempo, J., Cimpian, A., Woody, S., Crosnoe, R., Muller, C., Murray, J., Mhatre, P., Kersting, N., Hulleman, C., Kudym, M., Murphy, M., Duckworth, A. L., Walton, G. M., & Dweck, C. S. (2022). Teacher mindsets help explain where a growth-mindset intervention does and doesn’t work. Psychological Science, 33(1), 18–32. https://doi.org/10.1177/09567976211028984
Yeager, D. S., & Dweck, C. S. (2020). What can be learned from growth mindset controversies? American Psychologist, 75(9), 1269–1284. https://doi.org/10.1037/amp0000794
Yeager, D. S., Hanselman, P., Walton, G. M., Murray, J. S., Crosnoe, R., Muller, C., Tipton, E., Schneider, B., Hulleman, C. S., Hinojosa, C. P., Paunesku, D., Romero, C., Flint, K., Roberts, A., Trott, J., Iachan, R., Buontempo, J., Yang, S. M., Carvalho, C. M., & Dweck, C. S. (2019). A national experiment reveals where a growth mindset improves achievement. Nature, 573(7774), 364–369. https://doi.org/10.1038/s41586-019-1466-y
Funding
This research was supported by the Pôle Pilote PEGASE [PIA3], an operation supported by the State within the framework of the action “Territories of educational innovation” of the Investments for the Future Programme, operated by the Caisse des Dépôts.
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Corresponding author
Ethics declarations
Conflict of interest
The authors have no relevant financial or non-financial interests to disclose.
Additional information
Publisher's Note
Springer Nature remains neutral with regard to jurisdictional claims in published maps and institutional affiliations.
Supplementary Information
Below is the link to the electronic supplementary material.
Rights and permissions
Springer Nature or its licensor (e.g. a society or other partner) holds exclusive rights to this article under a publishing agreement with the author(s) or other rightsholder(s); author self-archiving of the accepted manuscript version of this article is solely governed by the terms of such publishing agreement and applicable law.
About this article
Cite this article
Bakchich, J., Claes, N., Carré, A. et al. Examining the effects of socioeconomic status indicators on the association between growth mindset and sense of belonging to school. Soc Psychol Educ (2024). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11218-024-09900-8
Received:
Accepted:
Published:
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s11218-024-09900-8