The objective of positive education is not only to improve students’ well-being but also their academic performance. As an important concept in positive education, growth mindset refers to core assumptions about the malleability of a person’s intellectual abilities. The present study investigates the relation of growth mindsets to psychological well-being and school engagement. The study also explores the mediating function of resilience in this relation. We recruited a total of 1260 (658 males and 602 females) Chinese students from five diversified primary and middle schools. Results from the structural equation model (SEM) show that the development of high levels of growth mindsets in students predicts higher psychological well-being and school engagement through the enhancement of resilience. The current study contributes to our understanding towards the potential mechanisms of how positive education (e.g. altering the mindset of students) can impact psychological well-being and school engagement.

Growth mindset and grit have attracted much attention in educational research recently. Yet the underlying mechanisms that relate these variables to each other as well as to other variables remain largely unclear. This study investigates the relationships among growth mindset, learning motivations, and grit. We recruited a total of 1,842 students (884 males and 958 females) from third to ninth grade in a Chinese city. Results from the structural equation model analyzing the students’ responses showed that learning motivations partially mediate the relationship between growth mindset and grit. Specifically, intrinsic motivation and identified regulation of extrinsic motivation are positively associated with growth mindset and grit, while external regulation of extrinsic motivation is negatively associated with them. Additionally, introjected regulation of extrinsic motivation is uncorrelated with these two variables. This study furthers the understanding of the underlying mechanisms through which growth mindset and grit positively impact education.

Wellbeing science is the scientific investigation of wellbeing, its’ antecedents and consequences. Alongside growth of wellbeing science is significant interest in wellbeing interventions at individual, organizational and population levels, including measurement of national accounts of wellbeing. In this concept paper, we propose the capability model of wellbeing literacy as a new model for wellbeing science and practice. Wellbeing literacy is defined as a capability to comprehend and compose wellbeing language, across contexts, with the intention of using such language to maintain or improve the wellbeing of oneself, others or the world. Wellbeing literacy is underpinned by a capability model (i.e., what someone is able to be and do), and is based on constructivist (i.e., language shapes reality) and contextualist (i.e., words have different meanings in different contexts) epistemologies. The proposed capability model of wellbeing literacy adds to wellbeing science by providing a tangible way to assess mechanisms learned from wellbeing interventions. Moreover, it provides a framework for practitioners to understand and plan wellbeing communications. Workplaces and families as examples are discussed as relevant contexts for application of wellbeing literacy, and future directions for wellbeing literacy research are outlined.

Recent decades have brought growing interest in understanding and measuring psychological well-being. Although multiple measures of well-being exist, most were developed with Western populations. The current study tested the factor structure of a Chinese translation of the engagement, perseverance, optimism, connectedness and happiness (EPOCH) Measure of Adolescent Well-Being with 3,629 Chinese students (1,980 males, 1,649 females), and tested measurement invariance. The five-factor structure of the model was supported, and the model was invariant across age and gender. Combined with data from 2,041 American and 1,057 Australian adolescents, measurement invariance across cultures was supported for factor loadings but not intercepts or residuals. Results suggest that the factor structure is adequate across cultures, but the mean scores should not be directly compared. The findings support the EPOCH measure as an adequate scale, raise questions about different modeling decisions, and inform culturally sensitive approaches to comparing positive psychological variables across cultures.