Parent Engagement: A Resource to Foster and Support Growth Mindset in Students
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Authors
Garrett, Dustin
Date
2017-03-27
Type
Language
en
Keyword
Growth Mindset , Parent Engagement , Resource , Mental Health , Well-Being , Achievement , Student Support , Confidence , Resilience , Mindset , Mathematics , Barriers to Parent Engagement , Fostering Parent Engagement , Student Achievement , Growth Mindset at Home , Self-Esteem , Stress , The Use of Praise
Alternative Title
Abstract
The purpose of this project was to create a resource to help parents understand the nature of growth mindset and its importance; to support them at home in their efforts to promote growth mindsets within their children; and, to honour the reality that educators and parents each play an important role in fostering the development of more resilient and confident students. The project is in response to my work within my school district, because the topic of positive mindset has become a focus in recent years. In response to the school district’s priority, I noticed that colleagues, parents, and students began to ask questions about growth mindset and its characteristics. While colleagues and I had the privilege of professional development directed to the topic, we were confounded when asked to help parents to understand the issue: not only was the concept difficult to explain, there were no available resources written in parent friendly language that could help at home. I soon realized there needed to be a document to outline information and strategies that could be used at home to connect with those implemented at the school level. Being familiar with the format of the parent engagement tool kits developed by the Council of Ontario Directors in Education, I used their resources to inform the development of this project. This resource was designed, edited and revised based on informal feedback from many stakeholders, including administrators, classroom teachers, consultants, fellow graduate students, and parents. This project may be valuable to educators and parents in the community because vetted information on growth mindset is compiled into one easily accessible document and a complementary website. An implementation guide is also included to facilitate dissemination of the resource.