Does Students’ Socioeconomic Status Moderate the Relationship between Growth Mindset and Learning Achievement: Evidence from PISA 2018 for Kazakhstan

Abstract

Multiple studies demonstrate a positive association between having a growth mindset and learning achievement. However, recent research reveals that several aspects might moderate this relationship, such as psychological factors, the socioeconomic background of families, sense of belonging to school community, or school characteristics. The present study examines how socioeconomic status (SES) moderates the relationship between growth mindset and academic performance in reading drawing on a nationally representative sample of Kazakhstani students from the PISA 2018 database. The findings suggest that the socioeconomic status of students is a significant moderator in the relationship between growth mindset and learning achievement. The results show that beliefs about growth mindset account for higher learning achievement among both high and low-SES students in Kazakhstan. The last section discusses the policy implications these results have for Kazakhstan.

Keywords

• learning achievement
• growth mindset
• fixed mindset
• socioeconomic status
• pisa
• kazakhstan