Project – The Relationship between Students’ Growth Mindset and Academic Persistence: A Study of Undergraduates at Lagos State University

CHAPTER ONE

INTRODUCTION

1.1 Background to the Study

Higher education is an important stage of human development because it equips individuals with advanced knowledge, professional competencies, critical thinking skills and capacities required for participation in economic and social life. University education, however, requires students to cope with increasingly complex academic demands, including extensive reading, examinations, assignments, research activities, presentations and independent learning. Success in such an environment depends not only on intellectual ability or the quality of instruction but also on students’ beliefs about learning, effort and their capacity to improve. Dweck and Leggett (1988) proposed that individuals differ in the implicit beliefs they hold about the malleability of their abilities, distinguishing between more fixed and more growth-oriented views. In a growth mindset, individuals tend to regard abilities as capable of development through effort, effective strategies and learning, whereas a fixed mindset treats ability as relatively stable. These beliefs can influence how students interpret academic challenges and setbacks and therefore have implications for their persistence in university education. 

Growth mindset has subsequently become an important concept in educational psychology because of its proposed connection with students’ motivation, responses to difficulty and academic behaviour. Yeager and Dweck (2012) explain that mindset theory is concerned with the beliefs people hold about whether personal attributes are fixed or malleable and how such beliefs can shape goals, motivation and responses to challenges. Students who perceive intellectual ability as developable may be more inclined to interpret academic difficulty as an opportunity for learning rather than as evidence of permanent inability. This orientation can encourage students to continue working after poor examination results, seek assistance, change ineffective learning strategies and invest additional effort in difficult academic tasks. In this sense, growth mindset is conceptually relevant to academic persistence because persistence involves continuing to pursue academic goals despite obstacles, setbacks or temporary failure. Recent experimental work with university students has also examined growth mindset in relation to students’ responses to academic setbacks and found that students with stronger growth mindsets demonstrated more adaptive responses to failure. 

Academic persistence refers broadly to students’ continued engagement with their educational programmes despite academic, social, financial or personal difficulties. It may be expressed through continued enrolment, attendance, completion of coursework, sustained effort, preparation for examinations, seeking academic assistance and remaining committed to degree completion. Persistence is particularly important at the university level because students may encounter demanding courses, academic failure, competing responsibilities, financial pressures and uncertainty about their academic abilities. Tinto (2012) emphasizes that persistence in higher education is influenced by students’ experiences and their ability to remain connected to the academic and social life of the institution. From a psychological perspective, beliefs about ability may also affect whether students interpret academic challenges as temporary and manageable or as evidence that they lack the ability to succeed. Kim et al. (2022), in a longitudinal study of students at a large public university, specifically examined growth mindset in relation to GPA, credit accumulation, major selection and degree completion, demonstrating the relevance of mindset to the broader question of persistence and completion in higher education. 

The relationship between growth mindset and academic persistence can also be understood through students’ responses to academic setbacks. University students do not always experience continuous academic success. They may fail courses, obtain lower-than-expected grades, struggle with difficult subjects or experience challenges when transitioning between academic levels. A student who believes that academic ability can develop may be more likely to respond to such difficulties by increasing effort, seeking assistance or experimenting with alternative learning strategies. By contrast, a student who strongly believes that academic ability is fixed may interpret failure as evidence of limited ability and consequently disengage from the task. Miller (2021), studying undergraduate students in a university biochemistry course, reported that a metacognitive intervention related to growth mindset was associated with improved performance on a cumulative examination, although the intervention did not significantly change students’ measured mindsets. The findings demonstrate that the processes surrounding mindset, learning beliefs and academic behaviour are complex and should not automatically be interpreted as a simple cause-and-effect relationship. 

Academic persistence may further be influenced by the way students regulate effort and respond to academic challenges. A growth-oriented belief system may encourage students to regard effort as useful rather than as evidence that they lack natural ability. It may also encourage students to use feedback constructively and modify learning strategies when previous approaches fail. This is important because university learning increasingly requires independent study, self-regulation, problem solving and adaptation to unfamiliar academic demands. A recent longitudinal study involving university students found that students with stronger growth mindsets initially demonstrated higher academic performance and were better able to navigate unfamiliar academic areas, although the advantage diminished as students progressed through their university education. The study therefore illustrates that growth mindset may be relevant to academic adaptation while also showing that its relationship with academic outcomes can vary over time. 

Despite the theoretical appeal of growth mindset, empirical evidence has not established a uniform relationship between mindset and academic outcomes. Macnamara and Burgoyne (2023), in a systematic review and meta-analysis involving 63 studies and 97,672 participants, found only a small overall effect of growth mindset interventions on academic achievement, and that effect became nonsignificant after correcting for potential publication bias. Similarly, a study of 832 students examining growth mindset across the transition from secondary school to university and throughout undergraduate education found no significant association between growth mindset and university grades. These findings are important because they suggest that students’ beliefs about the malleability of ability should not be treated as a universal explanation for academic success or persistence. Instead, the relationship may depend on contextual, social, instructional and individual factors. 

The issue is particularly worthy of investigation among undergraduates at Lagos State University because students operate within a specific Nigerian higher-education environment that may differ from the institutional contexts in which much of the growth-mindset literature has been developed. University students in Nigeria may encounter demanding academic programmes alongside issues such as financial pressures, transportation challenges, family responsibilities, employment, accommodation difficulties, examination pressures and competition for academic resources. Such conditions can influence the extent to which students persist when faced with academic setbacks. At the same time, evidence from international university research presents mixed findings: some studies associate growth mindset with adaptive responses, achievement or aspects of persistence, while other rigorous studies have found limited or no effects on longitudinal academic outcomes.  Therefore, rather than assuming that growth mindset automatically produces persistence, there is a need to empirically examine whether and to what extent students’ growth mindset is related to their academic persistence within the context of Lagos State University. Such evidence may contribute to the understanding of psychological factors associated with undergraduate persistence in a Nigerian university setting.

1.2 Statement of the Problem

Academic persistence remains an important concern in higher education because admission into a university programme does not necessarily guarantee that students will remain academically engaged until completion. Undergraduate students may encounter repeated academic setbacks, difficult courses, low grades, inadequate study strategies, financial difficulties and competing personal responsibilities. When students experience such difficulties, their responses may differ considerably: some continue working toward their academic goals, while others reduce their effort, withdraw from demanding tasks or eventually discontinue their studies. Tinto (2012) identifies persistence as a process influenced by students’ experiences within the institution, while mindset theory proposes that beliefs concerning the malleability of ability may influence how students respond to academic difficulty. The problem, therefore, is not merely whether students experience academic challenges but also whether their beliefs about their capacity to improve are associated with their willingness to continue pursuing academic goals despite those challenges.

A second problem is that students may differ considerably in their beliefs about intelligence and academic ability. Some undergraduates may believe that intelligence and academic ability can be developed through sustained effort, effective learning strategies, feedback and practice, whereas others may perceive their abilities as relatively fixed. Yeager and Dweck (2012) argue that such beliefs can influence students’ goals, motivation and responses to setbacks. However, the existence of a theoretical relationship does not necessarily mean that growth mindset produces greater academic persistence in every educational setting. Kim et al. (2022), for example, found no evidence of longitudinal treatment effects on GPA, credit accumulation or graduation for the full sample of students in their large public-university study, although some subgroup effects were observed. This mixed evidence creates a problem of empirical uncertainty regarding the extent to which growth mindset is actually related to sustained academic engagement and persistence among undergraduates.

Another concern is that much of the influential evidence on growth mindset has emerged from educational systems outside Nigeria, making it necessary to examine whether the relationship is similarly observable among Nigerian university students. Macnamara and Burgoyne (2023) reported that the overall effects of growth mindset interventions on academic achievement were small and became nonsignificant after accounting for possible publication bias. Likewise, Burnette et al. and related research have contributed to a broader debate concerning whether mindset interventions consistently produce meaningful educational outcomes. More recent longitudinal evidence has also shown that the relationship between growth mindset and academic performance may change across the university years rather than remaining constant.  Consequently, applying conclusions developed from other populations directly to undergraduates at Lagos State University may overlook differences in educational experiences, socioeconomic conditions, institutional culture and students’ academic challenges.

The central problem addressed by this study is therefore the limited empirical evidence concerning the relationship between students’ growth mindset and academic persistence among undergraduates at Lagos State University. Although growth mindset theory suggests that students who believe abilities can develop may be more likely to respond constructively to academic setbacks, existing research presents mixed findings regarding the strength and consistency of this relationship. Some evidence indicates that growth-oriented beliefs are associated with adaptive responses to academic setbacks and aspects of academic performance, while rigorous reviews and longitudinal studies indicate that effects may be small, conditional or absent in some populations. The present study therefore seeks to determine whether students’ growth mindset is significantly related to their academic persistence and to examine the specific dimensions of growth-oriented beliefs that may be associated with students’ continued commitment to their undergraduate education at Lagos State University.

1.3 Aim and Objectives of the Study

The main aim of this study is to examine the relationship between students’ growth mindset and academic persistence among undergraduates at Lagos State University.

The specific objectives are to:

1. examine the relationship between students’ belief in the malleability of academic ability and their academic persistence at Lagos State University;
2. determine the relationship between students’ response to academic challenges and their academic persistence at Lagos State University;
3. examine the relationship between students’ willingness to exert effort and their academic persistence at Lagos State University; and
4. assess the overall relationship between students’ growth mindset and academic persistence among undergraduates at Lagos State University.

1.4 Research Questions

The following research questions will guide the study:

1. What is the relationship between students’ belief in the malleability of academic ability and their academic persistence at Lagos State University?
2. What is the relationship between students’ response to academic challenges and their academic persistence at Lagos State University?
3. What is the relationship between students’ willingness to exert effort and their academic persistence at Lagos State University?
4. What is the relationship between students’ overall growth mindset and academic persistence at Lagos State University?

1.5 Research Hypothesis

The following null hypothesis will be tested at the 0.05 level of significance:

H₀: There is no statistically significant relationship between students’ growth mindset and academic persistence among undergraduates at Lagos State University.

1.6 Significance of the Study

The study will be significant to students because it will provide greater understanding of the role that beliefs about the development of academic abilities may play in their responses to academic difficulties. The findings may encourage students to reflect on how they respond to poor grades, difficult courses, academic feedback and other challenges encountered during their university education.

The study will also be useful to lecturers and academic advisers. Understanding whether growth mindset is associated with persistence may help lecturers and advisers recognize psychological factors that may influence students’ reactions to academic setbacks. The findings may provide a basis for developing appropriate academic support, feedback and mentoring approaches.

The findings will be relevant to the management of Lagos State University because they may provide institution-specific evidence concerning psychological factors associated with undergraduate persistence. Such evidence may support the development or strengthening of student-support programmes, academic counselling, mentoring and interventions designed to help students remain engaged with their academic programmes.

The study may also benefit university counsellors and student-development professionals. The findings may assist counsellors in understanding students’ beliefs concerning academic ability and how those beliefs relate to persistence when students encounter academic difficulties.

The study will be useful to parents and guardians because it may provide information about the psychological factors that can influence students’ continued engagement with university education. Such information may help families provide more constructive academic encouragement and support.

Finally, the study will contribute to the academic literature on growth mindset and academic persistence by providing evidence from a Nigerian university context. It may serve as a reference for future researchers interested in educational psychology, student engagement, academic resilience, persistence, motivation and higher education in Nigeria.

1.7 Scope of the Study

The study focuses on the relationship between students’ growth mindset and academic persistence among undergraduates at Lagos State University. The geographical scope is Lagos State University, Nigeria. The study will focus on selected undergraduate students of the university.

The content scope covers two major variables: students’ growth mindset and academic persistence. Growth mindset will be examined through students’ beliefs concerning the malleability of academic ability, responses to academic challenges, willingness to exert effort and related growth-oriented beliefs. Academic persistence will be examined in terms of students’ continued effort, commitment to academic goals, persistence following setbacks, completion of academic tasks and willingness to continue pursuing their academic programme despite difficulties.

The study will not attempt to establish that growth mindset is the only factor responsible for students’ academic persistence. Other factors, including financial circumstances, institutional support, teaching quality, peer influence, family circumstances, academic preparedness and personal wellbeing, may also influence persistence. The study is specifically concerned with the relationship between growth mindset and academic persistence.

1.8 Operational Definition of Terms

Academic Persistence: The continued effort, commitment and involvement of a student in pursuing academic goals and completing a university programme despite academic challenges, setbacks or difficulties.

Academic Challenge: A difficult academic situation experienced by a student, such as a difficult course, poor examination result, demanding assignment, unfamiliar subject or other academic obstacle.

Academic Ability: A student’s perceived capacity to understand, learn, apply and perform academic tasks and activities.

Academic Setback: An academic difficulty or failure that may include poor grades, failure in a course, unsuccessful examination performance or difficulty completing an academic task.

Growth Mindset: A belief that intellectual and academic abilities are capable of developing and improving through effort, effective strategies, learning, practice, feedback and experience.

Fixed Mindset: A belief that intellectual or academic abilities are relatively stable and cannot substantially be changed through effort or learning.

Effort: The amount of energy, time and persistence a student invests in academic learning and task completion.

Undergraduate: A student enrolled in a bachelor’s degree or other first-degree programme at Lagos State University.

Students’ Response to Academic Challenges: The behavioural and psychological manner in which students react when they encounter academic difficulty, failure, criticism or demanding learning tasks.

Lagos State University: A public university in Lagos State, Nigeria, and the institutional setting selected for this study.

Project – The Relationship between Students’ Growth Mindset and Academic Persistence: A Study of Undergraduates at Lagos State University