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Does inducing growth-oriented mindsets about math ability in parents enhance children's math mindsets, affect, and
Carolyn MacDonald1, Dajung Diana Oh2, Michael M Barger3
1Department of Psychology, University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign.
Developmental Psychology
|June 24, 2024
Summary
A parent intervention improved parents' growth mindsets about math, but did not enhance children's math adjustment or parenting practices. The control group also showed improvements, suggesting the curriculum information was beneficial.
Area of Science:
- Educational Psychology
- Developmental Psychology
- Parenting Interventions
Background:
- Parental math mindsets influence children's academic outcomes.
- Growth-oriented mindsets emphasize that abilities can be developed.
- Previous interventions have focused on improving children's mindsets directly.
Purpose of the Study:
- To evaluate a parent-directed intervention fostering growth mindsets about math.
- To assess the intervention's impact on parental math mindsets and practices.
- To examine the effects on children's math adjustment, including mindsets and achievement.
Main Methods:
- Longitudinal randomized-control trial with 615 parents.
- Intervention group received growth mindset training; control group learned about Common Core math.
- Parental reports on mindsets and practices, and child math adjustment, were collected over 15-18 months.
Main Results:
- The intervention successfully increased parents' beliefs in math malleability and the benefits of failure.
- No significant improvements in parental math parenting practices or children's math adjustment were observed compared to the control.
- Both groups showed general improvements in parenting practices and child adjustment over time.
Conclusions:
- While the intervention enhanced parental growth mindsets about math, these changes did not translate into measurable benefits for children's math learning.
- The active control condition, providing information on the Common Core math curriculum, may have offered comparable benefits.
- Future research should explore mechanisms linking parental mindsets to child outcomes more directly.
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