Developing a Growth Mindset
- learningcoach sarah
- Dec 28, 2025
- 2 min read
The concept of a growth mindset comes from the work of psychologist Dr Carol Dweck.
A growth mindset is the belief that skills and intelligence develop through effort, practice, and support. Children who develop a growth mindset understand that successful learning takes time and effort and that mistakes are a natural and valuable part of the process.
As Carol Dweck explains:
“In a growth mindset, challenges are exciting rather than threatening.”
This is very different from a fixed mindset, where children may believe they are either “good” or “bad” at something—and give up when it feels hard.
Developing a growth mindset is important for children because with a growth mindset children are more likely to keep going when learning feels challenging and develop resilience in the face of challenge. With a growth mindset not being able to do something is seen as a challenge to be overcome rather than a reflection of an innate lack of abililty.
As parents, it’s natural to want to praise our children and tell them how fabulous we think they are—but how we praise matters. Research shows that praising effort, strategies, and perseverance )and therefore building the growth mindset) helps children develop a stronger sense of confidence than praising ability alone.
Many children fear getting things wrong but developing a growth mindset helps them see mistakes as part of learning, not something to be ashamed of. A growth mindset doesn’t just help with homework or exams—it supports children throughout their lives because
when children learn to think “I can learn how to do this”, rather than “I’m just not good at this”, they carry that belief with them for life.
There are many inspiring quotes that reinforce theimportance of the growth mindset - here are my top ten.
Top 10 Growth Mindset quotes:
“Becoming is better than being.” — Carol Dweck
“No matter what your ability is, effort is what ignites that ability and turns it into accomplishment.” — Carol Dweck
“Failure is simply the opportunity to begin again, this time more intelligently.” — Henry Ford
“It’s not that I’m so smart, it’s just that I stay with problems longer.” — Albert Einstein
“Do not judge me by my successes, judge me by how many times I fell down and got back up again.” — Nelson Mandela
“I’ve failed over and over and over again in my life. And that is why I succeed.” — Michael Jordan
“Change will not come if we wait for some other person or some other time. We are the ones we’ve been waiting for.” — Barack Obama
"Success is not final, failure is not fatal: It is the courage to continue that counts — Winston Churchill
At Lighthouse Learning Co, supporting a growth mindset is central to the approach taken to tutoring and learning support. The aim is to create an environment where children feel safe to ask questions, make mistakes, and grow in confidence.
To find out more about the learning coach service and support offered to parents do please get in touch using the form below.
Click below for a free growth mindset affirmation poster
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