I was coaching a principal recently who was feeling frustrated about the poor choices her students were making. She’d been working hard to ensure her school offered students lots of opportunities.She prided herself on the range of academic subjects available to students, as well as providing multiple pathways into apprenticeships and further study.

But she was frustrated because many of her students tended to take the easiest options or chose to do nothing at all. Despite the opportunities on offer many students seemed to have low aspirations, didn’t want to challenge themselves, and appeared unmotivated.

Why were students making such poor choices?

As we spoke, I explained how a student’s mindset impacts the choices they make. Students with a fixed mindset believe their choices are limited by the abilities they have. They think that being comes before doing. So, they need to have the abilities to do something before they can...