Background: Past studies on mindsets have mostly examined them as an individual difference variable. However, the mindset-by-context framework argues that mindsets do not occur within a vacuum, and their successful implementation depends on the social context. One of the most important social contexts for students is the socioeconomic conditions…

Elite schools around the world aspire to produce perfect students and yet there are always obstacles to this perfection being achieved. In this paper, we suggest that this process of perfectionism and obstruction can best be understood using a methodology that looks to the creative arts, rather than the usual social science orthodoxies. Our focus…