The Power of Believing You Can Get Smarter: The Impact of a Growth-Mindset Intervention on Academic Achievement in Peru

38 Pages Posted: 4 Feb 2020 Last revised: 8 Feb 2020

See all articles by Ingo Outes-Leon

Ingo Outes-Leon

University of Oxford

Alan Sánchez

Group for the Analysis of Development (GRADE)

Renos Vakis

World Bank Group, Kenya

Date Written: February 3, 2020

Abstract

This paper evaluates the academic impact of a growth-mindset intervention on students starting the secondary level in public schools in urban Peru. ¡Expande tu Mente! is a 90-minute school session aimed at instilling the notion that a person's own intelligence is malleable. Students in schools randomly assigned to treatment showed a small improvement in math test scores and educational expectations, with a large and sustained impact in test scores among students outside the capital city. At a cost of $0.20 per pupil, ¡Expande tu Mente! was highly cost-effective. The results show the potential that brief growth-mindset interventions have for developing countries.

Suggested Citation

Outes-Leon, Ingo and Sánchez, Alan and Vakis, Renos, The Power of Believing You Can Get Smarter: The Impact of a Growth-Mindset Intervention on Academic Achievement in Peru (February 3, 2020). World Bank Policy Research Working Paper No. 9141, Available at SSRN: https://ssrn.com/abstract=3531336

Ingo Outes-Leon (Contact Author)

University of Oxford ( email )

Mansfield Road
Oxford, Oxfordshire OX1 4AU
United Kingdom

Alan Sánchez

Group for the Analysis of Development (GRADE) ( email )

Av. Almirante Grau #915
Lima 4
Peru

Renos Vakis

World Bank Group, Kenya ( email )

1818 H Street NW
Washington, DC 20433
United States

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