Perseverance in the classroom: findings from a randomised educational intervention in primary schools in England

Francesca Foliano (), Sherria Hoskins () and Heather Rolfe ()
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Francesca Foliano: Center for Education and Leadership Excellence, Postal: Stockholm School of Economics, Center for Education and Leadership Excellence, Saltmätargatan 13-17, P.O. Box 6501, 113 83 Stockholm
Sherria Hoskins: University of Portsmouth
Heather Rolfe: British Future

No 26/5, Working Papers from Stockholm School of Economics, Center for Educational Leadership and Excellence

Abstract: We evaluate a cluster randomised trial of a teacher-delivered programme aimed at increasing perseverance and academic achievement in primary school pupils across 100 schools in England. Year 6 teachers in treatment schools receive training in growth mindset theory and deliver an eight-week programme of structured classroom sessions. The intervention has no impact on Key Stage 2 test scores in reading, mathematics, or grammar, punctuation and spelling and this null result holds across all subgroups, including pupils eligible for Free School Meals. The intervention does produce a large shift in pupils’ beliefs about the malleability of their intelligence (0.417 standard deviations), confirming that the programme was received as intended, and a positive effect on intrinsic motivation towards learning (0.127 SD).

Keywords: perseverance; mindset; attainment; beliefs (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: C91 C93 D04 I28 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Pages: 35 pages
Date: 2026-06-01
New Economics Papers: this item is included in nep-edu
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