In 2014, the Raikes Foundation helped establish the Mindset Scholars Network to improve student outcomes and expand educational opportunity by advancing the scientific understanding of learning mindsets. Through our partnership with the network, we have learned so much about learning mindsets, including growth mindset, belonging, and purpose & relevance, and the powerful role they play in students’ success in school and beyond.

The network has focused its cross-disciplinary scholarship on the most pressing problems of practice in our education system. From research to policy and classroom practices, the network has already made significant strides in its first year of work. This includes partnership with practitioners in the Carnegie Student Agency Improvement Community, leadership on the advancement and responsible application of non-cognitive measures in educational settings, and  two flagship studies on the impact of learning mindsets on students’ success in the transition to high school and college.

And now we’re excited to support the Mindset Scholar Network’s next chapter as they launch a new interdisciplinary research initiative to explore how learning environments can help students develop learning mindsets. Building on the foundational evidence that shows learning mindsets matter, this initiative will help the field better-understand how different aspects of the learning environment influence students’ development of learning mindsets. This includes aspects such as teachers’ actions, peer behaviors, the design of learning tasks, discipline practices, and much more.

Understanding the influence of these environmental factors on learning mindsets will help practitioners and policy makers build schools where all students—particularly historically underserved students of color and those from low-income backgrounds—build the knowledge, skills and mindsets to thrive. Please read more about the network’s new work in this blog post from their executive director, Lisa Quay.