A Light-Touch Mindset Intervention boosts both pre-service teachers’ and benefits their struggling students’ growth mindsets: Good practice in using evidence for education policy and practice
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Publication data
| By | Katharina Asbury, Bastian Carstensen |
| Original language | English |
| Published in | (Good practice in using evidence for education policy and practice) |
| Editor (Publisher) | United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) |
| Additional information | Selected by UNESCO for inclusion in the Good Practice in Using Evidence for Education Policy and Practice collection as an example of evidence-informed teacher education contributing to SDG 4. |
| DOI/Link | https://media.unesco.org/sites/default/files/webform/ed3002/2-leibniz-institute-germany.pdf , 2-leibniz-institute-germany.pdf |
| Publication status | Published – 07.2026 |
| Keywords | teaching and the teaching profession, teachers, Primary and secondary education, Curriculum and learning assessment, STEAM education, Higher education, STEM, Inclusion and equity |
This intervention strengthens both teacher education and student outcomes by embedding a light-touch growth mindset training into a pre-service teacher program. Pre-service teachers (N = 83) participated in a standardized 20-hour training course that included mindset theory, motivational strategies, and instructional feedback techniques. They then tutored small groups of low-achieving fifth-grade students (N = 364) in mathematics over 12-week. The study employed a cluster-randomized design with an active and passive control group.
Tutors who received mindset training showed more stable growth mindset beliefs and fewer talent-based attributions over time. Critically, their students maintained stronger growth mindsets, unlike students tutored by peers without mindset training, who exhibited a motivational decline. This highlights the transmission of teacher beliefs to students and underscores how pre-service training can foster inclusive learning environments.
This practice is considered effective due to its dual impact on teachers and learners, its feasibility for integration into existing teacher education programs, and its focus on low-achieving students, thereby addressing equity in learning outcomes. The light-touch nature and demonstrated psychological and academic benefits suggest that it is both scalable and adaptable across education systems seeking to promote motivation, resilience, and equitable learning opportunities. Taken together, this intervention represents a good practice in evidence-based policy, linking robust empirical evidence with feasible and equity-oriented teacher education reform.
