Sharing Student Projects

Adolescence is characterised as a challenging time due to hormonal changes and increased pressures. Carol Dweck’s growth mindset research suggests that there are categories individuals fall 53 into, that of a fixed mindset, a growth mindset or in between. Research indicates that adolescents’ well-being is paramount and there is increasing need to find preventative measures to target increased well-being in adolescents. Encouraging a growth mindset has been demonstrated to strengthen students' resilience and motivates them to take on new challenges to enhance their wellbeing. This research investigated the relationship between a growth mindset and emotional wellbeing in adolescent-aged pupils whilst accounting for sex. There is little research explaining this association, therefore a moderation analysis was performed to explore the role of academic selfefficacy within this relationship. This study targeted 16-year-old adolescent students as they are shown to be a vulnerable group in terms of mental and emotional health disorders. A total of 79 participants took part in the study. However, 24 participants were excluded due to missing values or variables that were not of interest, leaving a sample of 55 participants for the analysis. Among these, 11 (25%) participants were male, and 44 (75%) were female. After the ethics were approved by the University of Manchester SEED, headteachers of secondary schools were contacted via email, including a link that sent participants to the online study via the Qualtrics platform. Participants were first required to read the information sheet before commencing and providing their informed consent to participate. Students then participated in brief demographic questions asking their gender and three psychological questionnaires. The questionnaires included the Implicit Theories of Intelligence Scale, the Patterns of Adaptive Learning Scales and the Warwick Emotional Well-being Scale, which assessed students' growth mindsets, academic self-efficacy and emotional well-being, respectively. Overall, the results showed no significant findings for the relationship between a growth mindset and emotional well-being and when accounting for sex. However, the research does highlight the significant association between academic self-efficacy and emotional well-being suggesting the importance of encouraging academic self-efficacy beliefs in adolescent pupils to allow students to flourish and believe in their academic abilities that can contribute to better emotional well-being. This is consistent with previous literature indicating that students with positive academic self-efficacy beliefs can positively impact their overall emotional well-being and encourage resilience towards academic challenges. Finally, the moderation analysis was found to be non-significant, which was not consistent with previous literature and theories about a significant relationship between a growth mindset and greater emotional well-being with the addition of high academic self-efficacy beliefs; academic self-efficacy did not moderate the relationship between a growth mindset and emotional well-being suggesting there are more prevalent moderating variables. Although a growth mindset was not significantly associated with greater emotional wellbeing, previous literature has indicated that a growth mindset has been found to have multiple positive psychological outcomes. Therefore, it is still important to encourage and promote a growth mindset in adolescent-aged pupils. The findings are important for teachers and parents to promote academic self-efficacy in adolescents to help to build a generation of more resilient and emotionally equipped students. The findings also point to potential gender differences, suggesting that further research could target interventions appropriately according to those most susceptible to the benefits. Future research can identify further variables impacting adolescents’ emotional well-being and to further understand the complexity of well-being in students.

This study was conducted as adolescent well-being is often overlooked in favour of prioritising academic achievement. This study aims to support the notion that student achievement can be improved by taking into consideration their mindset towards learning. Currently, adolescents are facing a very high prevalence of mental health disorders and poor well-being. Creating a generation of students who are more resilient, confident and experience greater emotional wellbeing are more likely to positively contribute to their communities and seek further education, participate in lifelong learning and succeed in their careers. This can result in a more supportive social community where people can support one another. Furthermore, students who hold greater emotional well-being have been shown to have stronger relationships with friends and family which can contribute to reduced feelings of loneliness and mental health disorders. Therefore, education systems may benefit from a more holistic approach on student development placing their emotional well-being at the forefront. A more inclusive society can help to reduce costs for the NHS in terms of mental health care, greater job satisfaction and overall wellbeing as a result of placing stronger emphasis on well-being in educational policy for schools. With education systems placing focus on mental and emotional health in students this can also reduce the stigma associated with these disorders and encourage more students to seek support. The study’s findings into gender differences can help practitioners in designing interventions that can improve vulnerable populations' emotional and academic well-being and result in more thorough and evidence-based interventions.