Developing Self-Efficacy and Growth Mindset
What is self-efficacy?
Psychologist Albert Bandura, who developed the framework for self-efficacy in the 1970s, defined it as the “belief in one’s capabilities to organize and execute the courses of action required to attain designated types of performances” (Bandura, 1977).
What is growth mindset?
A growth mindset, as proposed by Stanford professor Carol Dweck in her book Mindset: The New Psychology of Success (2006), describes people who believe that their success depends on time and effort. People with a grown mindset feel their skills and intelligence can be improved with effort and persistence. They embrace challenges, persist through obstacles, learn from criticism and seek out inspiration in others’ success (Top Hat, 2024).
Video: Teaching Activities To Tap Into a Growth Mindset (Top Hat, 2024)
Self-Efficacy and Growth Mindset in Faculty
Growth mindset isn’t only about getting students to believe in themselves. If anything, it is more about an educator’s own mindset, the expectations they have for their students, and how they help students develop an awareness and understanding of their thought process (Edmondson, 2024).
Attributes of a Faculty Member with a Growth Mindset and High Self-Efficacy
- They take responsibility for improving their practice through continuous professional development and use critical feedback and reflection.
- They see setbacks and feedback as an opportunity to learn and grow their skills.
- They actively seek learning opportunities and new challenges.
- They have positive and high goals and expectations for themselves and their students.
- They use growth mindset language with themselves and when teaching to create supportive classroom climates.
- They experiment with new teaching strategies to enhance student engagement and outcomes that support lifelong learning.
(Edmondson, 2024; Withy, 2019)
As an educator, it is important to understand that adopting a growth mindset means being ok with change (Shelley, 2021). Educators who adopt a growth mindset understand that change takes time and effort. Applying a growth mindset to bolster your inclusive teaching practices means you might shift the language of your syllabus from cold to warm language one semester, intentionally include learner-centered activities another semester, and focus on effective and equitable feedback the following semester. Through small, incremental changes, educators develop a growth mindset while applying principles of inclusive teaching, both of which benefit students’ comfortability in the classroom, their desire to learn, and their own growth mindset.
How Faculty Can Support Self-Efficacy and Growth Mindset in Students
Ways faculty can change their students’ thinking from “I can’t do this” to “I can’t do this yet”:
- Talk with students about various work, study strategies, and their outcomes
- Promote collaboration and peer modeling
- Support risk-taking
- Encourage students to anticipate mistakes and view them as opportunities to learn and grow
- Be specific with constructive feedback
- Offer specific feedback and reassure students that constructive criticism is acceptable and serves as a valuable learning opportunity
- Foster goal setting
- Cultivate resilience in students
(Withy & Hargraves, 2019)
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References
Bandura, A. (1977). Self-efficacy: Toward a unifying theory of behavioral change. Psychological Review, 84(2), 191-215. https://doi.org/10.1037/0033-295X.84.2.191
Dweck, C. (2015, September 22). Carol Dweck revisits the ‘Growth Mindset’. Education Week. Retrieved on January 14, 2025, from https://www.edweek.org/leadership/opinion-carol-dweck-revisits-the-growth-mindset/2015/09
Edmondson, S. (2025, January 14). Growth mindset: The key to successful teaching? IRIS Connect US. https://www.irisconnect.com/us/blog/growth-mindset-the-key-to-successful-teaching
Sahagun, A. S., Moser, R., Shomaker, J., & Fortier, J. (2021). Developing a growth-mindset pedagogy for higher education and testing its efficacy. Social Sciences & Humanities Open, Science Direct 4(1). https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ssaho.2021.100168
Shelley. (2021, February 28). Growth mindset for teachers: Change is good. The Write Stuff Teaching. https://thewritestuffteaching.com/the-evolution-of-my-education/
Top Hat. (n.d.). Growth mindset. Retrieved January 14, 2025, from https://tophat.com/glossary/g/growth-mindset
Withy, H. (2019, September 23). Strategies for developing and maintaining self-efficacy in teachers. The Education Hub. Retrieved January 14, 2025, from https://theeducationhub.org.nz/strategies-for-developing-and-maintaining-self-efficacy-in-teachers/
Withy, H., & Hargraves, V. (2019, September 23). Strategies for promoting self-efficacy in students. The Education Hub. Retrieved January 14, 2025, from https://theeducationhub.org.nz/strategies-for-promoting-self-efficacy-in-students/#_edn1
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