Grit

What is Grit?
What allows some high school Juniors to graduate on time compared to their peers? What contributes to some cadets persisting through brutal physical training regimens, while others may quit? What makes some teachers stay in teachers while others may burn out within a few years? Angela Duckworth and her colleagues at University of PennsylvaniaDuckworth, A., & Gross, J. J. (2014). Self-Control and Grit: Related but Separable Determinants of Success. Current Directions in Psychological Science, 23(5), 319–325. https://doi.org/10.1177/0963721414541462 found in their research the answer to this question in a simple four-letter word: Grit.
Grit is defined as a “passion for and perseverance toward especially long-term goals.” Many psychologists have attempted to understand the factors that contribute to success in life. While Galton introduced the concept of “self-denial” or self-control into our psychological vernacular, many more have worked to deepen our understanding of what produces self-control in practice. Perkins-Gough, D., & Duckworth, A. (2013). The significance of grit. Educational Leadership, 71, 14–20. In the early 2000’s, Duckworth and colleagues found discrepancies in student performance in NY Public Schools. To her surprise, students with the lower IQ’s were often outperforming students with the higher IQ’s. To understand what was happening, she turned to the work of Carol Dweck and the concept of “growth mindset,” which helps us understand the capacity for the brain to change when faced with challenges. Hochanadel, A., & Finamore, D. (2015). Fixed And Growth Mindset In Education And How Grit Helps Students Persist In The Face Of Adversity. Journal of International Education Research (JIER), 11(1), 47–50. https://doi.org/10.19030/jier.v11i1.9099 Duckworth and colleagues built on this concept as they developed a deeper understanding of how students operationalize their growth mindset, learn from their setbacks, and persist through challenges. 
The Evidence for Grit
The research in support of Grit has transcended the educational context. Many have seen elements of grit in corporate America, military training, and athletic performance. Duckworth, A. (2016). Grit: The Power of Passion and Perseverance. Simon and Schuster. The evidence that is most compelling in support of grit, however, stems from studies that assess student achievement over time.
Duckworth and Quinn set out to define and measure grit by developing the Short Grit Scale (Grit-S). Through this process, they hoped to measure “trait-level perseverance and passion for long term goals." Duckworth, A. L., & Quinn, P. D. (n.d.). Development and Validation of the Short Grit Scale (Grit–S). 10. The two main facets they aimed to assess among respondents were consistency of interest and perseverance of effort. They assessed these factors through questions such as “I often set a goal but later choose a different one” (consistency) and “I finish whatever I begin,” (perseverance). As they developed and tested the validity and consistency of their scale, they found Grit-S scores were associated with educational attainment and career longevity. They also found Grit-S scores predicted GPA, were inversely correlated with hours of TV watched, and predicted retention at the U.S. Military Academy, as well as final round attainment in the Scripps National Spelling Bee.
Muenks and colleagues administered grit, self-control, and behavioral regulation assessments on a sample of college students to understand how or if grit functions in higher education. Muenks, K., Wigfield, A., Yang, J. S., & O’Neal, C. R. (2017). How true is grit? Assessing its relations to high school and college students’ personality characteristics, self-regulation, engagement, and achievement. Journal of Educational Psychology, 109(5), 599–620. https://doi.org/10.1037/edu0000153 Researchers controlled for personality, self-regulation, and engagement constructs to best distill whether success in academic endeavors was a result of grit alone, or perhaps other facets of the students’ individual and contextual resources. This research team also aimed to detail a model with which to understand the mechanisms of grit and how it functions to support learners and professionals. They found that students’ grit overlapped with their self-control, self-regulation, and engagement with their learning and goals. In this way, they propose a broader understanding of grit as a facet in students’ success, as perseverance of effort was shown to be essential to their academic achievements. Depending on the age, however, other self-regulation factors were shown to be higher predictors for their grades than grit alone. This is important to understand as it is one of many of the examples in which the grit framework may fall short to understand an individual’s success as a whole. Vazsonyi, A. T., Ksinan, A. J., Ksinan Jiskrova, G., Mikuška, J., Javakhishvili, M., & Cui, G. (2019). To grit or not to grit, that is the question! Journal of Research in Personality, 78, 215–226. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jrp.2018.12.006
Critiques of the Theory
Despite compelling research and evidence suggesting the correlation of grit with overall academic and professional success, many began to poke holes in the concept of grit, particularly in its inability to capture the impact systemic oppression and privilege has on achievement, motivation, and perseverance. Schriener (2017) points out discrepancies in the research and implementation of grit as a concept in many classrooms. Schreiner, L. A. (2017). The Privilege of Grit. About Campus, 22(5), 11–20. https://doi.org/10.1002/abc.21303 While Duckworth argues that in order to foster and increase one’s grit, they must focus on their weaknesses, there is contradictory literature suggesting that intrinsic motivation stems, instead, from cultivating and honing in on one’s strengths. In addition, critics have highlighted the essential role social environment and resources play in one’s access to extracurricular activities and academic supports that will translate to increase in grades and scores on standardized testing, as well as resources to persist through challenges that arise.Stitzlein, S. M. (2018). Teaching for Hope in the Era of Grit. Teachers College Record, 120(3), 1–28. https://doi.org/10.1177/016146811812000307
In addition, many have sought to underscore the dangers in grit theory. While appealing at first glance, grit theory’s focus on the individual can have implications for how we design interventions, support students, and understand success or challenges. Stitzlein and colleagues have argued that grit places the onus on the individual to transcend their circumstances, however under-resourced, to achieve academic or professional success, rather than place the onus on systems to become more equitable and supportive. As one can imagine, Stitzlein argues, simply asking someone who is struggling to make ends meet to “prioritize their future goals” or “find their passion,” may seem senseless when the challenges they are facing are not a result of their lack of grit, but rather systemic oppression and lack of access to resources. Critics argue the focus on grit in classrooms and in the research can contribute to the “pull yourself up by your bootstraps” and an “American exceptionalism” mindset, in which an individual’s success is tied directly to their perseverance and work ethic rather than taking into consideration the privilege that aided them throughout the process.Kirchgasler, C. (2018). True Grit? Making a Scientific Object and Pedagogical Tool. American Educational Research Journal, 55(4), 693–720. https://doi.org/10.3102/0002831217752244 Rather than focusing on removing systemic and structural barriers, critics argue grit theorists instead focus on “cultivating the grit of those who have been marginalized by such barriers." While many may have been swayed by the compelling outcomes of those who measure high in grit, critics argue it is essential we challenge the concept of grit, and instead focus on the contextual factors and privileges that play a role in one’s success.
Category:Education
Category:Children and Adolescents
Category:Personality