Growth Mindset

Kristijan Musek Lešnik
Nov 15, 2025
2 min read

The way we think about our abilities shapes everything — how we learn, how we face challenges, and how we respond to failure. A growth mindset isn’t about perfection — it’s about progress. It helps children and youth approach challenges with confidence, resilience, and joy in learning.

“Ability grows with effort—and that’s a lesson worth teaching. Because when we believe we can grow, we do.”

A growth mindset means believing that intelligence and skills can develop through effort, learning, and perseverance. Its opposite — a fixed mindset — assumes that abilities are unchangeable, that we’re either “good at something” or we’re not.

This difference may sound small, but it dramatically changes how young people approach every challenge in life.

Why Growth Mindset Matters

When young people believe they can grow, they see effort as progress — not proof of failure. They learn to say: “I can’t do it yet, but I can learn.”

A growth mindset shapes how children and youth see themselves and the world around them. It helps them:

Embrace challenges.
Recover from mistakes.
Stay motivated and curious.
Believe their potential is not fixed.

Research shows that mindset — especially during childhood and adolescence — has a lifelong impact on motivation, learning, and well-being.

The Role of Education

Preschools and schools are where mindsets are formed every day — through feedback, praise, and the way effort and achievement are understood.

Supporting a growth mindset in education means:

Praising effort and strategies, not just talent.
Encouraging learning from mistakes.
Modeling curiosity, perseverance, and reflection.
Teaching that the brain grows stronger with practice.

When teachers help students see mistakes as part of learning, classrooms become places of courage — not fear.

Growing a Growth Mindset Through the Ages

Infancy (0–3 years): Learning by doing — trying, failing, and trying again.

Teacher’s role: Celebrating curiosity and effort.

Preschool (4–6 years): Discovering that some things are hard.

Teacher’s role: Praising persistence, not perfection.

Early School (7–10 years): Beginning to compare themselves with others.

Teacher’s role: Teaching about the brain’s ability to grow and learning from mistakes.

Tweens (11–13 years): Facing self-doubt and pressure.

Teacher’s role: Normalizing effort and sharing stories of learning through failure.

Teens (14–18 years): Shaping identity and purpose.

Teacher’s role: Encouraging reflection, healthy risk-taking, and valuing growth over grades.

Impact for Students, Teachers, and Families

When schools and teachers frame learning as growth, young people become more confident, resilient, and motivated. When they believe they can improve, they don’t just learn—they take initiative, persist, and engage with curiosity. In classrooms like these, potential isn’t fixed; it’s fostered… and achievement grows into lifelong learning.