Elementary School Teachers’ Growth Mindsets Predict Their Differential Treatment of High Versus Low Ability Students

We examined the relation between teachers’ beliefs about the nature of intelligence (their growth mindsets) and their treatment of high versus low ability students. Two studies were conducted: one with undergraduates (N = 174) who imagined working with fictional students, and one with in-service elementary school teachers (N = 245). Across studies, participants with weaker growth mindsets reported being more likely to use performance-oriented practices and less likely to use mastery-oriented practices with students they perceived to be low (rather than high) in ability. Participants with stronger growth mindsets reported this kind of differential treatment to a significantly lesser extent.