A case study of A-level learners' mindsets in an international education institution in China

A case study of A-level learners' mindsets in an international education institution in China | Research Square window.SnipcartSettings = { analytics: { enabled: false } }; (function() { var accessVector = localStorage.getItem('access_vector') || ''; window.dataLayer = window.dataLayer || []; if (accessVector) { window.dataLayer.push({ user: { profile: { profileInfo: { snid: accessVector } } } }); } })(); (function(w,d,s,l,i){w[l]=w[l]||[];w[l].push({'gtm.start':new Date().getTime(),event:'gtm.js'});var f=d.getElementsByTagName(s)[0],j=d.createElement(s),dl=l!='dataLayer'?'&l='+l:'';j.async=true;j.src='https://www.googletagmanager.com/gtm.js?id='+i+dl;f.parentNode.insertBefore(j,f);})(window,document,'script','dataLayer','GTM-K279D39R'); Browse Preprints In Review Journals COVID-19 Preprints AJE Video Bytes Research Tools Research Promotion AJE Professional Editing AJE Rubriq About Preprint Platform In Review Editorial Policies Our Team Advisory Board Help Center Sign In Submit a Preprint Cite Share Download PDF Research Article A case study of A-level learners' mindsets in an international education institution in China Hongjia Shang, Dr Tina Barnes-Powell This is a preprint; it has not been peer reviewed by a journal. https://doi.org/ 10.21203/rs.3.rs-6686028/v1 This work is licensed under a CC BY 4.0 License Status: Posted Version 1 posted You are reading this latest preprint version Abstract This case study explores the learning mindsets of A-level students in an international school in China through long-term follow-up investigation and multilevel comparative analysis by themes. Multiple methods, including questionnaires, interviews, informal observations and documents, were used to generate thick and comprehensive descriptions. The research covers three foci: the characteristics of learners' learning mindsets in this setting, the relevant influential factors and the teachers' responses. The evidence illustrates that most students here hold mixed learning mindsets and analyses the influential factors towards their learning mindsets. The research proposes that the teachers here should be trained, and it provides mindset intervention suggestions for this setting. Educational Psychology growth mindset learning mindset Chinese context driving factors Full Text Additional Declarations The authors declare no competing interests. This study was approved by the Open University Human Research Ethics Committee and had been confirmed by the Chair as fully compliant with the The Open University's Ethics Principles for Research with Human Participants. Supplementary Files SupplementaryMaterials.docx Cite Share Download PDF Status: Posted Version 1 posted You are reading this latest preprint version Research Square lets you share your work early, gain feedback from the community, and start making changes to your manuscript prior to peer review in a journal. As a division of Research Square Company, we’re committed to making research communication faster, fairer, and more useful. We do this by developing innovative software and high quality services for the global research community. Our growing team is made up of researchers and industry professionals working together to solve the most critical problems facing scientific publishing. Also discoverable on Platform About Our Team In Review Editorial Policies Advisory Board Help Center Resources Author Services Accessibility API Access RSS feed Manage Cookie Preferences © Research Square 2026 | ISSN 2693-5015 (online) Privacy Policy Terms of Service Do Not Sell My Personal Information {"props":{"pageProps":{"initialData":{"identity":"rs-6686028","acceptedTermsAndConditions":true,"allowDirectSubmit":true,"archivedVersions":[],"articleType":"Research Article","associatedPublications":[],"authors":[{"id":457954375,"identity":"c92ea624-f27a-4e35-9b7f-c2ef0081f34b","order_by":0,"name":"Hongjia Shang","email":"data:image/png;base64,iVBORw0KGgoAAAANSUhEUgAAAZAAAAAyAQMAAABI0h/eAAAABlBMVEX///8AAABVwtN+AAAACXBIWXMAAA7EAAAOxAGVKw4bAAAA60lEQVRIiWNgGAWjYDACCSBmbACxDjYwfABzSdHCOINELQwMzDzEuEt+dvOzh1932OTJOx5u/GzzxyKPv4H54aMbeLQY3Dlmbix7Jq3Y8MDBZuncNoliiQNsxsY5+LRIJJhJS7YdTtzYcLBBOrdBIrHhAA+bND4t8jPSv8G0NP+2+COROJ+QFoYbOWaSH4Fa5jMcbJNmYJNI3EBIi8GNnDJpxra0xA1ALZa9bRKJGw8T8AvQYdskf7bZJM6fcfzxjR9/6hLnHW9++Bivwxig0WFw4wCMS0A5CDD+AFnX30CE0lEwCkbBKBiRAADK81Te326NtgAAAABJRU5ErkJggg==","orcid":"","institution":"","correspondingAuthor":true,"prefix":"","firstName":"Hongjia","middleName":"","lastName":"Shang","suffix":""},{"id":457954376,"identity":"13b9eb9e-a2df-4fe6-8f9c-bdffc0c928a2","order_by":1,"name":"Dr Tina Barnes-Powell","email":"","orcid":"","institution":"","correspondingAuthor":false,"prefix":"Dr","firstName":"Tina","middleName":"","lastName":"Barnes-Powell","suffix":""}],"badges":[],"createdAt":"2025-05-17 09:36:39","currentVersionCode":1,"declarations":{"humanSubjects":true,"vertebrateSubjects":false,"conflictsOfInterestStatement":false,"humanSubjectEthicalGuidelines":true,"humanSubjectConsent":true,"humanSubjectClinicalTrial":false,"humanSubjectCaseReport":false,"vertebrateSubjectEthicalGuidelines":false},"doi":"10.21203/rs.3.rs-6686028/v1","doiUrl":"https://doi.org/10.21203/rs.3.rs-6686028/v1","draftVersion":[],"editorialEvents":[],"editorialNote":"","failedWorkflow":false,"files":[{"id":83263375,"identity":"8dd8176e-fb06-4f3b-8eef-73f34efb3c6f","added_by":"auto","created_at":"2025-05-22 04:45:46","extension":"pdf","order_by":1,"title":"","display":"","copyAsset":false,"role":"manuscript-pdf","size":1342638,"visible":true,"origin":"","legend":"","description":"","filename":"AcasestudyofAlevellearnersmindsetsinaninternationaleducationinstitutioninChina.pdf","url":"https://assets-eu.researchsquare.com/files/rs-6686028/v1_covered_5193cc46-7396-412c-92a8-0c029bd9c7fc.pdf"},{"id":83262930,"identity":"8ca268cb-f8de-4a26-aacb-826e38677205","added_by":"auto","created_at":"2025-05-22 04:37:39","extension":"docx","order_by":1,"title":"","display":"","copyAsset":false,"role":"supplement","size":342282,"visible":true,"origin":"","legend":"","description":"","filename":"SupplementaryMaterials.docx","url":"https://assets-eu.researchsquare.com/files/rs-6686028/v1/651af6a3a74dc56e6ec2c31d.docx"}],"financialInterests":"\u003cp\u003eThe authors declare no competing interests.\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eThis study was approved by the Open University Human Research Ethics Committee and had been confirmed by the Chair as fully compliant with the The Open University's Ethics Principles for Research with Human Participants.\u003c/p\u003e","formattedTitle":"\u003cp\u003eA case study of A-level learners' mindsets in an international education institution in China\u003c/p\u003e","fulltext":[],"fulltextSource":"","fullText":"","funders":[],"hasAdminPriorityOnWorkflow":false,"hasManuscriptDocX":false,"hasOptedInToPreprint":true,"hasPassedJournalQc":"","hasAnyPriority":true,"hideJournal":true,"highlight":"","institution":"The Open University","isAcceptedByJournal":false,"isAuthorSuppliedPdf":true,"isDeskRejected":"","isHiddenFromSearch":false,"isInQc":false,"isInWorkflow":true,"isPdf":true,"isPdfUpToDate":true,"isWithdrawnOrRetracted":false,"journal":{"display":true,"email":"[email protected]","identity":"researchsquare","isNatureJournal":false,"hasQc":true,"allowDirectSubmit":true,"externalIdentity":"","sideBox":"","snPcode":"","submissionUrl":"/submission","title":"Research Square","twitterHandle":"researchsquare","acdcEnabled":true,"dfaEnabled":false,"editorialSystem":"","reportingPortfolio":"","inReviewEnabled":false,"inReviewRevisionsEnabled":true},"keywords":"growth mindset, learning mindset, Chinese context, driving factors","lastPublishedDoi":"10.21203/rs.3.rs-6686028/v1","lastPublishedDoiUrl":"https://doi.org/10.21203/rs.3.rs-6686028/v1","license":{"name":"CC BY 4.0","url":"https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/"},"manuscriptAbstract":"\u003cp\u003eThis case study explores the learning mindsets of A-level students in an international school in China through long-term follow-up investigation and multilevel comparative analysis by themes. 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