SACAP (The South African College of Applied Psychology) has taken on the content creation of a nano-course to shift hundreds of thousands of SA youth from a Fixed to a Growth Mindset.
The private tertiary educational institution has partnered with social enterprise, the Knowledge Trust to build a simple yet highly effective course to transfer essential personal development skills to 380 000 Knowledge Trust members that can help set them up for success in their training and work. Representing an educational innovation, the Growth Mindset Course is delivered via WhatsApp, a platform accessible to the vast majority of youth in South Africa.
Understanding a Growth versus Fixed MindsetDr Carol Dweck, a professor of psychology at Stanford University is a leading researcher on motivation and mindsets. Her work focuses on why and how people create success. She describes how people with a Growth Mindset see their skills, talents and abilities as a work in progress, and believe they have the capacity to improve their knowledge, abilities and gain experience in the course of their lifetime.
On the other hand, those with a Fixed Mindset tend to believe that their intelligence cannot be enhanced, and their skills and talents will always be what they are. These two opposite mindsets have a seminal impact on our openness to learning, the effort we put in, our tendency to ask for help and accept feedback from others, and affect our success in our endeavours and the achievement of our goals.
The Knowledge Trust has a network of 380 000 members, mostly under 25 years, and more than 70% of them are women. It brings them together with partners, employers and educational institutions to turn the tide of youth unemployment by opening up learning and earning opportunities. The organisation has established a Growth Mindset as a critical success factor and carries out assessments of its members to measure their job readiness and identify development opportunities.
Jaryd Raizon, Country Manager of The Knowledge Trust in South Africa, reveals that Growth Mindset levels were low, resulting in 80% of members being excluded from learnership and other opportunities because of their Fixed Mindsets. “This is not surprising,” he says, “Many of our members come from fragile homes and communities where it is just lucky, not the norm, to encounter positive role models. Limitations are all around you, dominating how you see the world and your potential in it every day. These are circumstances that cultivate a Fixed Mindset.”
As a leader in social sciences education in the country, SACAP has a complementary appreciation and focus on the importance of a Growth Mindset. Karolyne Williams, SACAP’s Head of Strategic Innovation mentions that while course design for other organisations is not a regular SACAP service, they were intrigued with the idea of designing a short course that could help people shift from a Fixed to a Growth Mindset using WhatsApp.
“We were invited by the Knowledge Trust to be involved, and we are passionate about improving youth unemployment,” she says. “We also know that a Fixed Mindset can be shifted to a Growth Mindset through training. Young people in South Africa need more than a vision or goals for their lives, they must have the tools, the personal wherewithal, to turn their dreams into realities. The training opens their eyes to what they can do to drive their own development and helps them realise they are capable of much more than they think.”
‘Soft Launch’ delivers extraordinary results
With the SACAP training content designed in a WhatsApp nano-course format, 1000 Knowledge Trust members with Fixed Mindsets were enlisted in the soft launch in June this year. Assessed before and after, over 83% of the participants shifted towards a Growth Mindset. Most participants completed the course in under two hours.
In July, the course was opened to all 380 000 Knowledge Trust members, and amongst a cohort of almost 3000 participants in August, more than 93% improved their Growth Mindset percentages. Raizon says, “This is a remarkable impact, and the course is now opened to other community members in South Africa who want to focus on their personal development and have the chance to change their stars.”
To sign up for the Growth Mindset Course, visit: https://knowledgetrust.org/growth-mindset-course/
SACAP And Knowledge Trust Partner To support Growth Mindset of SA Youth
SACAP (The South African College of Applied Psychology) has taken on the content creation of a nano-course to shift hundreds of thousands of SA youth from a Fixed to a Growth Mindset.
Advertisement
Related Articles
Across South Africa, thousands of successful matriculants are about to embark on a new and vital stage of their educational journey. It’s widely recognised that gaining some kind of tertiary education enhances young people’s opportunities to find fulfilling work and meet their future career and life goals.
Many young people today want careers that will empower them to make a positive difference in the world. A wide range of socio-economic and political issues including social justice issues, as well as the climate change related crises are top-of-mind on a daily basis, compelling Millennial and Gen Z generations to want to roll up their sleeves and work to bring about change.
The disruptions caused by the global pandemic over the past two years have fundamentally shifted our views, and our appreciation for what we can achieve in the online environment, especially when it comes to education.
Never one to shy away from a challenge, Dr Poppy Masinga, Head of the Social Work and Community Development Faculty at SACAP (The South African College of Applied Psychology) has been appointed as the incoming President of the Association of South African Social Work Education Institutions (ASASWEI).
While many of us regard higher education as essential for career success, in today’s fast-changing world, traditional degree and diploma programmes may not deliver results quickly enough to enhance job security or ensure a critical career advancement.
Advertisement
Advertisement
Most Popular Articles Today
In 2014, Basic Education Minister Angie Motshekga published the Norms and Standards for School Infrastructure regulations. This law set out that all schools must have water, electricity, internet, working toilets and safe classrooms.
Mentors and role models empower people to live a certain way and influence the important decisions they make in their lives. Although the two terms “role models” and “mentors” are used interchangeably, there are distinct differences and similarities.
The education department has announced that schools cannot make new education assistant appointments. As this phase of the youth employment initiative concludes, Skills Portal spoke to three individuals who participated in the programme to find out how it impacted their lives.
Management accounting control system is about the flow of information within a business enterprise that is designed to offer managers with both qualitative and non-qualitative statistics which gives managers a cost-effective advantage.
The impact of the July 2021 riots in KwaZulu-Natal and parts of Gauteng continue to be felt in South Africa. This as some businesses have not yet received their insurance payouts which directly impacts their ability to recover.
Advertisement
Other People Were Also Interested In
After months of waiting, beneficiaries of the Social Relief of Distress (SRD) grant found out that they will soon receive outstanding grant payments for successful reconsideration requests. This means outstanding payments for June and the backlog related to April and May will also be addressed.
As the month of June begins, approved beneficiaries of the Social Relief of Distress (SRD) R350 grant will qualify for a new round of payments. However, some grant beneficiaries have not been paid for the past two months.
It has been almost three months since unemployed individuals in South Africa received the crucial R350 grant. This is due to the rules around the grant’s disbursement changing after the National State of Disaster was lifted.
After almost a year of waiting, beneficiaries of the R350 grant could finally have access to their money. This follows an announcement stating that the process that was preventing reconsideration request payments has been concluded.
Every month, around 10 million people qualify to receive the R350 grant. The grant is crucial as it is the only support unemployed individuals between 18 and 59 years old receive from the South African government.
Advertisement