Abstract

This study advocates that a focus on mindset has the potential to support students navigating the complex process of developing generic graduate attributes. Dweck’s research on mindset was used to explore the mindset beliefs of students regarding a series of generic graduate attributes along with their perceptions of the malleability of intelligence and character. An online survey administered to students undertaking an Australian master’s degree identified differences between local and international student mindsets. A noteworthy proportion of students expressed fixed beliefs about their ability to develop the generic graduate attributes and approximately one third of respondents subscribed to fixed beliefs about intelligence and character, which has been identified to interfere with learning. By connecting these two traditionally separate bodies of research, that is, mindset and generic graduate attributes, we offer a valuable contribution to theory that has the potential for extensive practical application.