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Abstract

Teaching innovations can improve the quality of education and facilitate adaptation to environmental shifts caused by global shocks such as the COVID pandemic. However, the pressure to innovate and change may also cause erosion of teachers’ life satisfaction, especially when job resources are insufficient and support for the changes is inadequate, or when teachers lack confidence in mastering new teaching technology. In the present research, we showed that compared to those who did not, teachers who presented a growth mindset—the belief that one's abilities can grow by mobilizing effective effort—had a greater tendency to accept a new initiative in teaching and had higher life satisfaction, particularly when they perceived resources and support for the change were insufficient (Study 1). In addition, when schools needed to switch to online teaching because of school closure during the COVID-19 pandemic, teachers who presented a growth mindset, compared to those who did not, felt more self-efficacious in mastering online teaching and had higher life satisfaction (Study 2). We discuss these findings in terms of their implications on the management of teacher well-being and teachers’ professional development during significant environmental shifts.

Keywords

mindset teacher innovation life satisfaction

These are tough times to be a teacher … Demands on teachers to develop new knowledge and skills and perform new tasks are increasingly rapid. So too are expectations for school and teacher performance and accountability. Taken together, the characteristics and conditions of teaching present increasingly stressful situations for teachers, situations that may have positive or deleterious consequences for them and for their work with students. (Smylie, 1999, p. 59)

What are the protective psychological factors that would buffer the deleterious consequences of these stressful situations on teachers’ life satisfaction, defined as their reflective assessment of their own life (OECD, 2017)?

In addition, the COVID pandemic has created a tremendous amount of stress not only on the public health system but also on the education system, adversely affecting teachers’ mental well-being. Teachers need to cope with the emotional stress the pandemic has brought to their own personal life, and at the same time put in extra effort to support their students’ learning and well-being. A recent survey by OECD (2021) showed that during school suspension, although teaching and teacher–student interactions continued, teachers were required to adapt to online teaching using internet communication tools within a short period of time. Teachers needed to learn new skills, modify the curriculum, teaching materials, and assessments to adapt to the online learning environment. Teachers also needed to coordinate physical resources (e.g., pandemic prevention materials and digital equipment) to support pandemic control and learning from home and to provide additional mental health support to students and their families. When these additional responsibilities were not matched with appropriate resources and support, stress ensued and teachers’ well-being was affected (Collie & Martin, 2020). What psychological factors would help teachers maintain their life satisfaction in such challenging situations, when job demands had increased suddenly, and while job resources and support were inadequate? The goal of the present research is to provide a partial answer to these questions, drawing on the recent evidence on the well-being benefits of the growth mindset.

Growth mindset

Dweck and Yeager (2019) contend that there are two primary mindsets people can navigate life with. The growth mindset assumes that intellectual abilities are malleable qualities that can grow by mobilizing effective effort. The growth mindset is often contrasted with the fixed mindset, which assumes that intelligence is an innate capacity that cannot be changed (Dweck et al., 1995a). Most people have both mindsets, although one mindset is more accessible than the other under some circumstances (Dweck et al., 1995b). These mindsets affect how people view challenges and setbacks. In the fixed mindset, successes and setbacks define how good the self is, and challenges are viewed as a threat to one's self-evaluation. In contrast, in the growth mindset, outcomes do not define the self. Setbacks signal a need for improvement. Challenges (situations in which resources are insufficient to attain valued goals) motivate individuals to work harder and smarter for their goals (Nussbaum & Dweck, 2008). Consistent with this contention, research has shown that having a growth mindset increases resilience (Blackwell et al., 2007; Dweck et al., 1995b; Dweck & Yeager, 2019) and performance during challenging life transitions (Blackwell et al., 2007; Hong et al., 1999; Robins & Pals, 2002). Therefore, we predict that when teachers meet challenges, as when they need to face challenges of teaching reforms with inadequate resource or support, or when teachers need to rapidly adapt to online teaching, having a growth mindset will increase teachers’ acceptance of the teaching reforms and protect teachers from life satisfaction erosion (Hypothesis 1). Consistent with this hypothesis, there is evidence that teachers who believe that their teaching ability can grow tend not to feel anxious at work. Instead, they tend to enjoy teaching and engage in their job (Frondozo et al., 2020).

We further hypothesize that task-specific self-efficacy mediates the protective effects of growth mindset on teachers’ life satisfaction (Hypothesis 2). For example, when teachers needed to learn and adopt online teaching in short notice with limited support or resources during school lockdown, the expectancy that one can learn and master the online teaching technologies and pedagogies (hereafter referred to as online teaching self-efficacy) can reduce the adverse effect of the challenge on life satisfaction. In line with this idea, Vera et al. (2012) found that teachers’ self-efficacy, their belief about their ability to “organize and execute the courses of action required to manage prospective situations” (Bandura, 1997, p.3), is a powerful predictor of teachers’ resilience. Teachers who have higher self-efficacy show higher job engagement over time (Bermejo-Toro et al., 2016) and higher resilience in coping with pressure from imposed curriculum changes (Putwain & von der Embse, 2019).

In the growth mindset, abilities can be increased by mobilizing effective effort. Hence, teachers with a growth mindset tend to believe that they can take action to manage a difficult situation (Yeager & Dweck, 2012) and set more challenging learning goals. For example, when students learn the growth mindset, they are willing to attempt intellectually challenging advanced-level math courses (Rege et al., 2020). Likewise, teachers who believe that their professional ability is malleable tend to display emotional-motivational regulation behaviors, such as self-learning, goal setting, and monitoring when a new school improvement project is implemented in their schools (Rechsteiner et al., 2021).

Enhancing teachers’ well-being, aside from its intrinsic social-moral value, can improve teachers’ job performance and commitment (Collie et al., 2015; Duckworth et al., 2009; Skaalvik & Skaalvik, 2017). Teachers with better well-being show higher teaching effectiveness, higher self-efficacy, and lower stress. In addition, because teachers’ moods and motivation are contagious, teachers’ well-being can affect students’ well-being and academic performance (Becker et al., 2014; Harding et al., 2019; Rob & Dewberry, 2007). In the current research, we aimed to show that having a growth mindset can be a valuable personal resource for protecting teachers from the erosion of life satisfaction when they need to cope with teaching reforms and online teaching.

We tested our hypotheses in the contexts of (1) teaching reform with limited support or resources, and (2) rapid learning and adoption of online teaching during school lockdown.

Study 1

The context of teaching reforms with limited support for resources was well suited to answer our research questions. The participants in Study 1 were challenged to introduce positive education in their school. Positive education was a new movement in Hong Kong, which aims to teach for academic achievements and student well-being instead of teaching primarily for academic achievements. To meet the challenge, teachers needed to acquire a new perspective and new skills, renovate their curricula, pedagogies, and assessment methods. Teachers also needed to construct and adapt to a new learning culture. To meet these challenges, teachers needed a lot of resources and support from their schools and other professional parties.

To elaborate, teaching reforms often result in increased job stress for teachers. A survey conducted by a teacher union in Hong Kong showed that education reform is a major source of stress among teachers in Hong Kong (Chan, et al., 2010). Another survey conducted right after the implementation of new education policies in Hong Kong further revealed that the new policies became a source of stress to the teachers (Tsang & Kwong, 2017). The more the teachers perceived the new initiatives as a source of stress, the higher were their mental health risks. Teachers often reported not being given enough support to cope with the demands from new education initiatives. In one study, only 5.53% of the surveyed teachers reported that they were ready for the newly promoted STEM education. Almost half of the surveyed teachers reported that they were not ready for STEM education, although the new curriculum was already in place in their schools (Geng et al., 2019).

Inspired by the positive education movement, which aims to help students build a flourishing life, starting from 2018, many schools in Hong Kong joined the positive education movement (Seligman et al., 2009), which required teachers to learn theories and practices of positive psychology, and incorporated them into their curricula, pedagogies, student counseling, student assessment methods, and classroom management styles. For example, after attending a workshop on theories of growth mindset, a group of math teachers may be required to incorporate the concept of growth mindset in their subject teaching even though they have little knowledge on how to translate the theories into teaching practices. They may need to put in extra time to design new assessment methods to support students to take academic risks and promote perseverance despite their already very heavy workload. Most teachers needed to meet these new demands without sufficient professional support and job resources. By job resources, we refer to the “physical, psychological, social, or organizational aspects of the job that are functional in achieving work goals, reduce job demands and the associated physiological and psychological costs, or stimulate personal growth, learning, and development” (Bakker & Demerouti, 2007, p. 274). Examples of teachers’ job resources are autonomy at work, performance feedback, and professional development (Bermejo-Toro et al., 2016).

The job demands-resources (JD-R) model posits that job stress is a product of the appraised mismatch between job demands and job resources (Bakker & Demerouti, 2007; McCarthy et al., 2016). When job demands and job resources are appraised to be balanced, individuals will not feel challenged or stressed. When job demands exceed job resources to a substantial extent, individuals will feel challenged and experience anxiety and stress. Excessive job demands will deplete employees’ energy, as well as physical and mental resources (Bermejo-Toro et al., 2016), resulting in increased burnout, absenteeism, and turnover.

Hypothesis 1 states that having a growth mindset will increase teachers’ acceptance of a teaching reform and protect teachers from life satisfaction erosion, especially when supporting resources are low. To test this hypothesis, we recruited teachers from seven schools in Hong Kong. These schools had recently started a positive education program for about two years when the study was carried out. In this study, we used a standard mindset measure (Dweck et al., 1995b) to measure teachers’ mindset (which includes items that measure both the growth mindset and the fixed mindset). To test the hypothesis that having a growth mindset would be accompanied by more favorable perception of the positive education program and higher life satisfaction, we also measured teachers’ global evaluation of a new positive education program in their schools and their life satisfaction. Finally, to test the hypothesis that the link from growth mindset to program evaluation and life satisfaction would be stronger when perceived job resource was perceived to be inadequate (the situation was stressful to the teachers), we measured the perceived support and resources for implementing the positive education program in their schools.

Method

Participants

A total of 341 teachers from four primary and three secondary schools in Hong Kong (62.8% female; 27.6% male; 9.6% unreported) participated in a survey. We collected data for the following measures: growth and fixed mindset, resource availability, perception of the positive education, and life satisfaction. Data on teachers’ mindset and perception of positive education were used in another published study designed to answer a different research question (Chan et al., 2020). The remaining variables were not used in other studies before. One-third of the participants (33.4%) were aged between 31 and 40 and about one-quarter aged between 41 and 50 (26.4%). The remaining participants were 30-years-old or younger (17.3%) or over 50 (10.6%; 12.3% unreported). The raw data of Study 1 and Study 2 are available on OSF (https://osf.io/tm9bs/).

Teachers in these seven schools were invited to complete the survey online. The school management posted a web link on their school intranet or school social network group. Participants took part in the study out of their will and their answers were anonymized.

Measures

Teachers’ growth mindset was the hypothesized antecedent in our model. We measured it using a short version of the implicit theory of intelligence scale (Dweck et al., 1995b). This scale included both growth mindset and fixed mindset items. We included two growth mindset and two fixed mindset items in our measure. A sample growth mindset item was “You can substantially change how intelligent you are” and a sample fixed mindset item was “You have a certain amount of intelligence, and you really can’t do much to change it.” Participants indicated their response on a 7-point scale from 1 (strongly disagree) to 7 (strongly agree). The mean of these two growth mindset items was used to form the growth mindset measure (α = .81) and the mean of two fixed mindset items was used to form the fixed mindset measure (α = .80). We decided to treat the two mindset measures as separate measures because of their small negative correlation in the current study (r = −.21) and other studies of adults’ mindset in Hong Kong (see Chiu et al., 2023). To explain the weak correlation between the growth and fixed mindset measures, Chiu et al. (2023) posit that people may agree that intelligence can grow over time, but that the interpersonal rankings of intelligence across individuals are fixed. A similar argument was put forward by Roberts et al. (2006) to explain how Big-5 personality traits change across the life course, whereas cross-sectional interpersonal rankings of individuals along these traits are relatively stable.

There is also evidence for the discriminant validity of the two mindsets. In a recent meta-analytic review of 46 studies (94 effect sizes), Costa and Faria (2018) found that in Asia, only the growth mindset was positively associated with achievement, whereas in North America, only the fixed mindset was negatively associated with achievement. Consistent with this finding, because in both studies reported in the present article, all participants were Hong Kong Chinese teachers, we hypothesized that the growth mindset would predict well-being outcomes. However, we controlled for the effect of the fixed mindset in our analysis. The effect of growth mindset after controlling for the fixed mindset may reflect the effect of believing in the malleability of intelligence in spite of the stable cross-sectional individual differences in intelligence.

The mediating variable in our predictive model was teachers’ global evaluation of positive education, which was measured by five items of the Perception of Positive Education Program Scale (Elfrink et al., 2017; α = .93). A sample item was “Positive education project (PEP) is a valuable addition to our school.” Participants rated their agreement with each item on a 5-point Likert scale from 1 (strongly disagree) to 5 (strongly agree).

The outcome variable in our predictive model was teachers’ life satisfaction. We measured it with three items of the Life Satisfaction Scale (Diener et al., 1985; α = .88). A sample item was “I am satisfied with my life.” Teachers indicated their agreement with each item on a 7-point Likert scale from 1 (strongly disagree) to 7 (strongly agree).

We measured perceived resource availability, the hypothesized moderator in our predictive model, with eight items constructed for the purpose of the present study. Two items measured whether the mission of the positive education program was clearly explained to the teachers (e.g., “I am clear about the goals of positive education in our school”). Two items measured the extent to which teachers had received sufficient training in positive education (e.g., “I have sufficient training in positive education”). Two items measured the extent to which the school had helped the teachers identify with positive education (e.g., “The values promoted in positive education are meaningful to me”). Finally, two items measured support received from the school to implement positive education (e.g., “Our school has provided material resources for us to implement activities in the positive education program”). Teachers indicated their agreement with each item on a 7-point Likert scale from 1 (strongly disagree) to 7 (strongly agree). The mean of the eight items was used to form a composite measure of resource availability (α = .87).

Data analysis

The proposed moderated mediation model (Figure 1) was tested using a bootstrapping approach in a model that evaluated the significance of the indirect effects at various levels of the moderator (Hayes, 2018). In the model, teachers’ growth mindset was the predictor and perception of positive education was the mediator. The moderator was resource availability, and the outcome variable was life satisfaction. In the moderated mediation analysis, the conditional indirect effect of resource availability on the relationship between growth mindset and teachers’ life satisfaction through their perception of positive education was tested. The “PROCESS” macro—model 7, v3.5.3 (Hayes, 2018) in SPSS version 24 with bias-corrected 95% confidence intervals—was used to test the significance of the indirect (i.e., mediated) effects moderated by resource availability. This model explicitly tested the moderating effect on the growth mindset-life satisfaction association through perception of positive education (i.e., Path a). An index of moderated mediation was used to test the significance of the moderated mediation, that is, the difference of the indirect effects across levels of resource availability (Hayes, 2018). The exclusion of zero within the 95% confidence intervals indicated a significant effect.

Figure 1.

Conditional indirect effects of teachers’ growth mindset on life satisfaction through perception of positive education at high (+ 1 SD) and low (−1 SD) levels of perceived resource availability. The coefficients are not standardized.

Results and discussion

The descriptive statistics and the coefficients of internal consistency of the measured variables are presented in Table 1. The participants had a greater tendency to endorse the growth mindset (M = 4.38, SD = 1.45) than the fixed mindset (M = 3.36, SD = 1.45), t(340) = 8.34, p < .001, CI_.95 .78, 1.26, d = .45. They also tended to evaluate the positive education program favorably (M = 3.77, SD = 0.84 on a 5-point scale) and perceive resources and support for initiative to be adequate (M = 5.02, SD = 0.95 along a 7-point scale). They also reported relatively high level of life satisfaction (M = 4.88, SD = 1.21 on a 7-point scale). As shown in Table 2, expectedly, the growth mindset was positively correlated with perception of positive education, life satisfaction, and perceived resource availability. Teachers who presented a stronger growth mindset had more favorable perceptions of the positive education program, found resource supporting the positive education program to be more adequate and were more satisfied with life. Also as expected, perception of positive education was positively correlated with the perceived resource availability. Participants evaluated the positive education program more favorably when they found more resources and support for the positive education program. In contrast, the fixed mindset was negatively correlated with perception of positive education, life satisfaction, and perceived resource availability.

Table 1.

Scale range, mean (SD) and Cronbach's alpha of Major variables measured in Study 1 and Study 2

		Mean (SD)		Cronbach's α
	Scale Range	Study 1	Study 2	Study 1	Study 2
Growth mindset	1–7	4.38 (1.45)	4.73 (1.25)	0.81	0.79
Fixed mindset	1–7	3.36 (1.45)	3.16 (1.44)	0.80	0.83
Perception of positive education	1–5	3.77 (0.84)	–	0.93	–
Life satisfaction	1–7	4.88 (1.21)	4.97 (1.18)	0.88	0.86
Perceived resource availability	1–7	5.02 (0.95)	–	0.87	–
Online teaching self-efficacy	1–7	–	5.36 (0.79)	–	0.85

Table 2.

Pearson correlations among the measured variables in Study 1

	1	2	3	4	5
1. Growth mindset	–
2. Fixed mindset	−.21**	–
3. Perception of positive education	.35**	−.20**	–
4. Perceived resource availability	.31**	−.20**	.74**	–
5. Life satisfaction	.21**	−.13*	.32**	.37**	–

** Correlation was significant at the 0.01 level (2-tailed).

Using the model 7 macro in PROCESS, we tested whether resource availability moderated the effect of Path a (Figure 1; Hayes, 2018). Resource availability significantly moderated the effect of the growth mindset on life satisfaction (unstandardized interaction B = −0.076, SE = 0.021, t = −3.61, p < .001). The more favorably the teachers perceived the positive education program, the higher was their life satisfaction (B = 0.39, SE = 0.08, t = 4.88, p < .001). The overall moderated mediation model was supported: the index of moderated mediation = −0.03; 95% CI ∈ {−0.051, −0.011}. Because the 95% CI did not include 0, the moderation of resource availability on the indirect life satisfaction effect of the growth mindset via perception of positive education (Hayes, 2018) was significant. The conditional indirect effect was stronger when resource availability was low (one standard deviation below the mean of resource availability; completely standardized indirect effect = 0.07; 95% CI ∈ {0.032, 0.12}) and insignificant when resource availability was high (one standard deviation above the mean, completely standardized indirect effect = 0.003; 95% CI ∈ {−0.023, 0.029}).

Figure 2 shows the relationship between the growth mindset and perception of positive education when resource availability was low versus high. Tests of simple slopes revealed a nonsignificant association between the growth mindset and perception of positive education when resource availability was high (B = 0.007, SE = 0.029, t = 0.23, p = .82), and a significant association between the two variables when resource availability was low (B = 0.15, SE = 0.03, t = 5.02, p < .001). When resources and support for implementing the positive education program were perceived to be inadequate, teachers with a stronger growth mindset had more favorable perceptions of the program. When resource and support for implementing the positive education program were perceived to be adequate, teachers’ growth mindset was not associated with their perceptions of the program.

Figure 2.

Relationship of the growth mindset and perception of positive education at different levels of perceived resource availability.

Finally, the fixed mindset did not predict perception of positive education (B = −0.021, SE = 0.021, t = −0.10, p = .32) or life satisfaction (B = −0.039, SE = 0.044, t = −0.89, p = .38). These results resonate with the finding from Costa and Faria (2018): in Asia, only the growth mindset items showed a positive association with student achievement.

Study 2

Study 1 showed that teachers with a stronger growth mindset held a more positive attitude towards positive education, a new initiative in their schools. They also had higher life satisfaction, particularly when resources and support for the program were perceived to be relatively inadequate. In response to excessive job demands, individuals’ life satisfaction varies with their subjective appraisal of their capacity to cope with the situation (Collie & Martin, 2020). For example, two teachers may face the same new job demands resulting from the switch to positive education program or online teaching with limited job resources. However, they may respond to the situation differently, depending on how they appraise their current or future capacity to cope with the situation or improve the resources that they have.

Self-efficacious teachers, who believe that they can manage the situation by identifying appropriate means, tend to cope with demanding situations relatively effectively. Their self-efficacy becomes a personal resource that can be used to reduce job stress. Self-efficacy can also bolster employees’ resilience and buffer the negative effect of job demands on job engagement (Xanthopoulou et al., 2013; see also Dicke et al., 2018). Putwain and von der Embse (2019) also found that teachers’ self-efficacy can reduce the stress resulting from an imposed curriculum change.

The foregoing analysis suggests that self-efficacy may mediate the positive association between growth mindset and positive attitude towards positive education among teachers observed in Study 1. In Study 2, we tested Hypothesis 1 again in the context of online teaching adoption during school lockdown, which was another stressful situation for teachers. During the pandemic, schools were closed for infection prevention in many countries. Within months, online teaching was widely practiced and had become “the new normal” around the world. Teachers were required to change their teaching strategies. They were expected to search for and learn the education technologies that would support online teaching, and often had to do so with insufficient training and support (Ramírez-Hurtado et al., 2021). Moreover, because many teachers did not receive training in online teaching in their pre-service training or had limited experience in online teaching (Archambault et al., 2016), they were unprepared for the challenges. The high job demand-low resource situation created a lot of stress for the teachers and affected their well-being (Dabrowski, 2020).

We did not test the mediating role of task-specific self-efficacy (Hypothesis 2) in Study 1. To test Hypothesis 2, in Study 2, we also measured teachers’ self-efficacy in the new context of online teaching and predicted that online teaching self-efficacy would mediate the link between growth mindset and teachers’ life satisfaction.

Method

Participants

A total of 267 teachers (56.2% female, 34.8% male, 9.0% unreported) from three of the primary and three secondary schools in Study 1 participated in this survey. We could not track how many teachers had participated in both surveys because they answered the survey anonymously. Thirty percent of the participants (30.4%) were aged between 31 and 40. Another 30% were aged between 41 and 50 (29.6%). The remaining participants were 30-years-old or younger (16.9%) or over 50 (11.2%; 12.0% unreported). Teachers in the six schools were invited to complete an anonymous online survey advertised on their schools’ intranet or school social network group. Participation was voluntary.

Measures

The same measures of growth mindset (α = .79), fixed mindset (α = .83), and life satisfaction (α = .83) were used in the current study. We measured teachers’ self-efficacy in online teaching with 10 items selected from the Computer Anxiety Rating Scale (Heinssen et al., 1987). The items were slightly edited to fit the online learning setting. For example, the item “Anyone can learn to use a computer if they are patient and motivated” was changed to “Anyone can learn to use an online teaching tool if they are patient and motivated.” In addition, we added two COVID-specific items (e.g., “I am willing to accept the challenge of online teaching during the class suspension”). Participants rated their agreement on a 7-point Likert scale from 1 (strongly disagree) to 7 (strongly agree). The mean of the 10 items was used to form the self-efficacy measure, with higher scores indicating higher self-efficacy in online learning (α = .85).

Data analysis

The hypothesized mediation model (see Figure 3) was tested using a bootstrapping approach in a model that evaluated the significance of an indirect effect. In the model, the growth mindset was the predictor, self-efficacy in online teaching was the mediator, and life satisfaction was the outcome variable. The “PROCESS” macro, model 4, v3.5.3 (Hayes, 2018) in SPSS version 24 with bias-corrected 95% confidence intervals was used to test the significance of the indirect effect.

Figure 3.

Growth mindset effect on life satisfaction was mediated by online teaching self-efficacy.

Results and discussion

The descriptive statistics and the coefficients of internal consistency of the measured variables are presented in Table 1. As in Study 1, endorsement of the growth mindset (M = 4.73, SD = 1.25) was stronger than that of the fixed mindset (M = 3.16, SD = 1.44), t(259) = 11.24, p < .001, CI_.95 1.29, 1.84, d = .70. Self-efficacy in online learning also tended to be high (M = 5.36, SD = 0.79), and so was the level of life satisfaction (M = 4.97, SD = 1.18).

As in Study 1, endorsement of the growth mindset was negatively correlated with that of the fixed mindset (r = -.39, p < .001). Teachers with higher online teaching self-efficacy had higher life satisfaction (r = .25, p < .001). Also as predicted, the growth mindset was positively associated with online teaching self-efficacy (r = .24, p < .001) and life satisfaction (r = .22, p < .001). The fixed mindset was negatively related to online teaching self-efficacy (r = −.30, p < .001) and unrelated to life satisfaction (r = .05, p = .39).

In our predictive model, the life satisfaction benefit of the growth mindset was mediated by online teaching self-efficacy, controlling for the effect of the fixed mindset. As shown in Figure 3, the growth mindset was positively related to online teaching self-efficacy (B = 0.098, SE = 0.041, t = 2.38, p = .02), and online teaching self-efficacy was positively associated with life satisfaction (B = 0.34, SE = 0.095, t = 3.57, p < .001).

Using a bootstrapping procedure, we tested whether the indirect effect the growth mindset on life satisfaction through online teaching self-efficacy was significant. To elaborate, we computed the completely standardized indirect effects for each of the 10,000 bootstrapped samples and constructed the 95% confidence interval of the estimated indirect effect. The bootstrapped completely standardized indirect effect was 0.035, and its 95% confidence interval ranged from 0.0019 to 0.081; the indirect effect was statistically significant. Finally, although the fixed mindset was negatively related to online teaching self-efficacy (B = −0.13, SE = 0.035, t = −3.71, p < .001), it was unrelated to life satisfaction (B = 0.072, SE = 0.055, t = 1.33, p = .19).

General discussion

Study 1 results showed that, among teachers, having a growth mindset was accompanied by favorable perception of the new positive education program introduced in their schools, which in turn was accompanied by higher levels of life satisfaction. In addition, these positive associations were particularly strong when teachers perceived that job resources and support for the new program were inadequate. Although several studies have already shown that high job demands and low job resources contribute to teacher stress and burnout (Bottiani et al., 2019; Dicke et al., 2018; Rajendran et al., 2020), our study showed that the growth mindset can orient teachers to view the new job demands as a learning opportunity and feel good about it.

Furthermore, during school lockdown, teachers with a growth mindset tended to feel that they could handle the new job demands of online teaching and had higher life satisfaction (Study 2). It is well documented that self-efficacy can buffer the negative effect of job demands on teachers’ mental health, job engagement, and job satisfaction (Putwain & von der Embse, 2019; Skaalvik & Skaalvik, 2017; Vera et al., 2012). Study 2 findings showed that the growth mindset affords the belief that one can learn new skills and apply them to solve pressing problems resulting from suspension of school teaching. This finding resonates with the past finding that teachers with a growth mindset are likely to engage in emotional and motivational regulation activities that enhance their perseverance and self-reinforcement behaviors (Rechsteiner et al., 2021; Zimmerman et al., 2015). Study 2 findings also confirmed Hypothesis 2: through its association with higher task-specific self-efficacy, having a stronger growth mindset is accompanied by higher life satisfaction.

As in past research, among Asian teachers, the growth mindset, not the fixed mindset, was predictive of self-efficacy and well-being (Costa & Faria, 2018). Taken together, our findings underscore the value of growth mindset interventions among Asian schoolteachers. Past research shows that the growth mindset can be learned (Bettinger et al., 2018; Perkins et al., 2021; Rege et al., 2020; Yeager et al., 2019). A recent intervention study showed that a 30-min computerized growth mindset intervention can effectively enhance adolescents’ resilience. Compared to those in the waitlist group, adolescents who had received a growth mindset intervention showed higher self-compassion, more positive mood, and lower anxiety (Perkins et al., 2021). In addition, students who learned that the brain can be trained to become smarter when people work hard to learn new things preferred working on challenging math tasks and were more likely to enroll in advanced math courses afterwards (Bettinger et al., 2018; Rege, et al., 2020). Future research can test the well-being and motivational benefits of growth mindset interventions among teachers.

If growth mindset interventions are shown to be effective, bolstering teachers’ growth mindset about their ability can be a cost-effective strategy to help teachers cope with the stress from new job demands and protect teachers’ subjective well-being. In one of the few mindset intervention studies for teachers, Seaton (2018) provided six weekly training sessions to a group of high school teachers. In the training, teachers learned how the brain worked and how deliberate practices could increase students’ intellectual abilities. After the training, teachers tended to adopt a growth mindset. They paid attention to their students’ mindsets and were able to apply growth mindset strategies in class. These effects lasted up to three months after the intervention.

Thus, our findings have significant implications for teachers’ education and teachers’ professional development. Schools often introduce new educational initiatives. These initiatives can become a source of stress when insufficient resources are provided. On the one hand, appropriate professional training that enables teachers to master useful skills is important to build up teachers’ self-efficacy (Bandura, 1997). On the other hand, relevant and effective professional training is not always available due to the dearth of time and resources, as in the two situations studied in the present article. Under these circumstances, strengthening and activating the growth mindset among teachers can provide teachers with the psychological capital useful for coping with demanding situations.

The present research has a limitation. Because both studies used a cross-sectional design, the causal relationships among the variables cannot be established. Salanova et al. (2006) have found reciprocal relationship between self-efficacy and work-related flow experience. Likewise, Dicke et al. (2018) showed that self-efficacy and job engagement are reciprocally related. It is possible that growth mindset affects individuals’ self-efficacy and subjective well-being, which in turn further strengthens the growth mindset. Thus, a longitudinal study is needed to verify the causal directions or reciprocal causation among these variables.

In summary, teaching reforms are necessary for improvements in the education system. Likewise, rapid adoption of online teaching is required to maintain students’ learning during the pandemic. Nonetheless, both teaching reforms and online teaching are challenging situations that could cause erosion of teachers’ life satisfaction. The present research shows that the growth mindset is a psychological factor that protects teachers from life satisfaction erosion in these challenging situations.

Supplemental Material

sj-docx-1-pac-10.1177_18344909231167533 - Supplemental material for Growth mindset predicts teachers’ life satisfaction when they are challenged to innovate their teaching

Supplemental material, sj-docx-1-pac-10.1177_18344909231167533 for Growth mindset predicts teachers’ life satisfaction when they are challenged to innovate their teaching by Sau-Lai Lee, Hiu-Sze Chan, Yuk-Yue Tong and Chi-Yue Chiu in Journal of Pacific Rim Psychology

Footnotes

Declaration of conflicting interests

The authors declared no potential conflicts of interest with respect to the research, authorship, and/or publication of this article.

Funding

The authors received no financial support for the research, authorship, and/or publication of this article.

ORCID iDs

Sau-Lai Lee

Hiu-Sze Chan

Yuk-Yue Tong

Chi-Yue Chiu

Supplemental material

Supplemental material for this article is available online.

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