Scandinavian Working Papers in Business Administration
Working Papers,
Stockholm School of Economics, Center for Educational Leadership and Excellence
No 26/5: Perseverance in the classroom: findings from a randomised educational intervention in primary schools in England
Francesca Foliano (), Sherria Hoskins () and Heather Rolfe ()
Additional contact information
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
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
35 pages, June 1, 2026
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hastel2026_005.1.pdfFull text
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