Growth Mindset Interventions and Mathematics Achievement Among Disadvantaged Secondary School Students in Kano State

This study evaluates the effectiveness of a structured growth mindset intervention on mathematics achievement among disadvantaged secondary school students in Kano State, North West Nigeria. Fixed mindset beliefs, the view that intelligence is innate and immutable, have been identified as a significant barrier to academic persistence and achievement, particularly in challenging subjects like mathematics and among students from disadvantaged socioeconomic backgrounds. The study employs a randomised controlled trial design, involving 200 SS1 mathematics students from six public schools in Kano Municipal and Nassarawa Local Government Areas. Students in the intervention group received six sessions of a growth mindset workshop adapted for the Nigerian secondary school context, while controls received no additional intervention. Mathematics achievement scores and the Implicit Theories of Intelligence Scale were measured at baseline and at four-month follow-up. Data were analysed using analysis of covariance and moderation analysis. Results indicate that students who received the intervention showed significantly higher growth mindset scores and post-intervention mathematics achievement compared to controls. The intervention effect was strongest among students with the lowest baseline mathematics scores, suggesting that growth mindset instruction disproportionately benefits the most academically vulnerable. These findings provide empirical support for the scalability of growth mindset programmes in the North West Nigerian secondary school context. The Kano State Ministry of Education is advised to pilot growth mindset training through teacher professional development to enable classroom-level integration. Keywords: growth mindset, mathematics achievement, disadvantaged students, secondary school, Kano State.