How Grit is a Positive Predictor of Academic Success among College Students

Introduction

College can be a trying time for students due to the weight of new responsibilities and the increase in personal accountability. There are no parents looming over ones shoulder, the subjects and classes are more difficult and require more study, and the pressures can build. One quality of successful students that has been identified by researchers is grita toughness of character that helps a person to be resilient when facing obstacles so as to overcome them (Crede, 2018). This paper will conduct a literature review of the relevant material related to grit as a positive predictor of academic successful among the college student population. It will look at both qualitative and quantitative findings. It will also identify a need for an intervention at the macro level and explain why this population is in need of a targeted intervention based on the literature reviewed. Finally, it will make a recommendation of a specific intervention related to the concept of grit and describe how this intervention could be carried out and evaluated.

Literature Review

Crede (2018) argues that the evidence is lacking to support grit as an effective predictor of academic success or that long-term goals will be reached. The argument is based on Credes (2018) evaluation of the definition of grit as perseverance plus passion. Because grit is a construct, however, the defining of it will vary from one study to another. Crede (2018) states that the evidence does not support the view that grit is necessary for success, and part of his problem is with the construct itself. Grit is defined by Crede (2018) by two other constructs (passion and perseverance) which makes it impossible to really understand at a scientific level. With that said, Credes qualitative assessment of the evidence ignores the quantitative findings of other researchers and cherry-picks data so as to present grit in a negative light when it comes to predicting academic success. One interesting finding from Credes (2018) assessment is that if interventions at developing perseverance in a student are to be successful they must be long-term. In other words, one cannot expect a brief intervention to be effective at addressing a problem that affects students at the college level. Grit is something that has to be developed at a younger age and honed as the student grows older. Attempting to instill the values that make up grit in the personality and character at the age of 18 is too late; the character has already been formed. For an intervention to last and be effective, it must be implemented much earlierwell before the students reach the college level stage of life.

The quantitative data supports the notion that grit can predict academic success. Unlike Crede (2018), Boerma and Neill (2020) define grit as a facet of perseverance, which means it is a quality of that virtueakin to tenaciousness (p. 442). They found that university students who possessed that facet of perseverance tended to score higher GPAs. Thus, the quantitative data indicates in this study that grit is a good predictor of academic success.

The study by Boerma and Neill (2020) is not alone. Hodge, Wright and Bennett (2018) also found that the grit factor made a difference in the academic performance of the 395 university students in their studys sample. The researchers found a positive relationship between grit, engagement and academic productivity (p. 448). Wolters and Hussain (2015) also found that grit was a good predictor of university students ability to engage in self-regulated learning. The same is true of the study by Fong and Kim (2019), which showed that grit is a positive predictor of university students GPA. Their study is supported by Vela, Lu, Lenz, and Hinojosa (2015) who noted that familial support systems also serve as a good predictor. Additionally, Strayhorn (2014) showed that grit is a determining predictor for African-American university students as well. And in online education, self-regulation is needed by students to stay engaged and grit factors into their performance there, too, according to the quantitative study by Buzzetto-Hollywood, Quinn, Wang and Hill (2019). All these quantitative studies show that grit is a good predictor of academic performance. The qualitative quibbling of Crede (2018) does not suffice to discourage these researchers interpretation of the data.

However, Crede (2018) does make a valid point about the need for a long-term intervention to develop grit. The quantitative studies focus on the predictive power of grit. They do not focus on how to develop Grit. In his qualitative analysis, Crede (2018) shows that grit cannot be developed via a short-term intervention once the student has reached the college age. In other words, it must be developed at a younger age so that it becomes a life-long habit, i.e., the virtue of perseverance. That insight from Crede (2018) can be useful when developing an intervention. Since the quantitative data shows how important grit is in the academic success of college students, it is clear that an intervention to address the lack of collegiate success should focus on grit. The study Vela e al. (2015) also highlighted the role that family support plays, so that is another factor...…level of grit. To that end, special focus of the intervention should be on the Office of Grit and Determination that colleges set up on campus to see how much activity they are getting from students, what those interactions are like, how effective training is being (again surveys will be useful here with trainers and trainees answering questions at the end of one training session), but the best measure will be the raw data of test scores and GPA averages.

Selecting a sample to measure is important because that sample should be reflective of the general population overall. That means the sample should not be all from one college where the demographics of the college do not resemble national demographics. Neither should the sample come from one region of the US only. The best kind of sample would be randomized and would be demographically representative of the college population as a whole.

To conduct an appropriate survey, it is necessary to conduct a pilot study using the survey to see if it produces valid results. Data triangulation is also helpful, however, and individual interviews could be conducted using a similar randomized sample. This would provide qualitative data to support quantitative findings. Interview data could provide a more intimate an in-depth type of analysis. However, interview data can also be highly individualistic and it is often difficult to derive generalizations from it. Thus, it should always be paired with quantitative data that can be trusted to show information that can reflect the wider population.

Culturally informed and ethical approaches to evaluation would focus on obtaining informed consent from participants in the evaluation and having an independent review board oversee the process to ensure that it adheres to universal ethical standards. It would be culturally informed by ensuring that no sector of the population is discriminated against and that training and support services are provided to all demographics.

Conclusion

Grit is a determining factor in predicting academic success. The research is clear on that point. Students at the college level need grit to succeed because they are now on their own and much more independent than they are in secondary schooling. Unless they are capable of self-regulating, persevering and buckling down on school work, they will not succeed. Instilling grit does take time, and this is a proposal for an intervention that can last all throughout the school years from elementary on up to college. The point of beginning with elementary schools is simple: grit should be instilled early on when the character of the learner is being formed. But for students already in college, there should be a Grit and Determination…