In research on educational equity students from socioeconomically disadvantaged homes are typically depicted as low-performers and more likely to fail in school (Sirin, 2005). However, there is a group of students who despite their disadvantaged background manage to succeed in school. This capacity to overcome adversities in the education and still reach successful achievements is referred to as Academic Resilience. Understanding the mechanisms that these resilient students rely upon in their schooling is important knowledge for effective policy interventions.

When investigating academic resilience in educational settings both socioemotional and cognitive factors, such as high self-efficacy, perseverance, willingness and capacity to plan, low anxiety and high IQ, have been shown to be related to higher academic achievement and also enhancing academic resilience (e.g. Duckworth, et al., 2007; Fonagy, et al., 1994; Martin & Marsh, 2009). It has even been suggested that socioemotional factors could be more important in explaining the achievements for disadvantaged students (e.g. Heckman & Rubinstein, 2001). In line with these arguments, Grit, has been suggested as an excellent predictor of success, over and above intelligence (e.g. Duckworth et al., 2007), particularly in contexts characterised by high levels of adversity (Duckworth & Gross, 2014). Grittier individuals were shown to have higher levels of education as well as grade point averages (GPA) (Duckworth et al., 2007). Additionally, Grit is suggested to be a stronger predictor of success than cognitive ability (e.g. Scelfo, 2016). Grit is defined as the perseverance of effort and consistency of interest or passion for long-term goals (Duckworth et al., 2007; Duckworth & Quinn, 2009) implying that it entails the capacity for “working strenuously toward challenges, maintaining effort and interest over years despite failure, adversity, and plateaus in progress” (Duckworth, et al., 2007, p. 1087). Gritty individuals are typically depicted as being able to stay on task despite feelings of boredom an ability claimed to be essential for achievement (Duckworth, et al., 2007). The definition of Grit also includes its hierarchical nature, i.e. the combination of perseverance and passion forms the higher order construct of grit (Duckworth & Quinn, 2009).  

Even if the concept of Grit has been widely recognized in research studies and adopted in a range of school-based interventions it does not stand without criticism. In an essay by Credé (2018) several issues are raised in relation to the concept. For example, Credé, Tynan, & Harms (2017) found in their study that when perseverance and passion were considered separately, they predicted success better than an overall Grit score. Instead Credé (2018) suggests that it is possible that “grit represent the unique combination of high levels of perseverance and (simultaneously) high levels of passion” (p. 607). This would imply that perseverance as a predictor of success would be dependent on the level of passion, i.e. that the predictive power of perseverance on measures of performance is stronger when and individual is high in passion (Credé, 2018). In addition, Credé (2018) is arguing that the focus on already successful individuals can distort the results and overestimate the importance of both perseverance and passion.

The purpose of the present study is twofold. First, we investigate the measurement properties of Grit in a Swedish compulsory school setting. With Duckworth’s two-dimensional model as point of departure (i.e., perseverance and passion), we take into account additionally the interaction between the two dimensions in predicting learning outcomes. Another purpose is to examine whether or not the resilient students are grittier than the non-resilient ones.

Data are retrieved from the evaluation through follow-up database (ETF), a longitudinal project built on 10% national representative samples for nine birth cohorts in Sweden. Participants in the present study are 9000 individuals from the 1972 ETF birth cohort, who left compulsory school in 1988. For the 1972 cohort information on both cognitive and socioemotional traits are available. The sample is a stratified national representative sample based on a stratified selection of 29 municipals followed by a random selection of 554 classes in third grade of compulsory school. The individuals in the sample were followed up in Grades 3, 6, and 9 and in upper secondary school (Härnqvist, 2000). Information from cognitive tests as well as information from questionnaire data measuring perseverance and interest in school work are used. Also, GPA from school grade 9 in compulsory school and information on the students’ family background are used to identify resilient students (Agasiti, et al., 2018). Both the students’ perseverance as well as interest for school work were measured using questionnaire-data administered in grade 6 of compulsory school. In order to investigate the measurement properties of Grit for the predictive validity of achievement, structural equation modelling with latent variable is used. In a first step different measurement models of Grit are tested, e.g., high-order model, oblique model, and bi-factor model. We also compare the model fit and meaningfulness of these models. Factor scores for the best fitting model for Grit is estimated and saved as manifest variables. In a second step, the resilient and non-resilient students are identified by student family background and their school outcomes. Finally, the estimated factor scores of the Grit components will be compared between the resilient and non-resilient students. The analysis will be conducted using Mplus 8.2 (Muthén & Muthén, 1998-2018).

Both perseverance and passion are expected to predict achievement in school grade 9, as measured by grades but it is also expected that the interaction between the two factors will contribute significantly to predict achievement as measured by GPA in school grade 9 of compulsory school. The results are also expected to indicate that perseverance and passion may be well-fitted in hierarchical models, where the general factor may be denoted as Grit. Further, it is expected that the Grit will be significantly higher among resilient children. The results have relevance for the theory development in the measurement of Grit, but also for Grit’s empirical contribution to resilience.

Credé, M. (2018). What Shall We Do About Grit? A Critical Review of What We Know and What We Don´t Know. Educational Researcher, 47(9), 606-611. DOI: 10.3102/0013189X18801322 Credé, M., Tynan, M., & Harms, P. D. (2017). Much ado about grit: A meta-analytic synthesis of the grit literature. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 113(3), 492-511. DOI: 10.1037/pspp0000102 Duckworth, A. L., & Gross, J. J. (2014). Self-Control and Grit: Related but Separable Determinants of Success. Current Directions in Psychological Science, 23(5) 319–325. DOI: 10.1177/0963721414541462 cdps.sagepub.com Duckworth, A.L., Peterson, C., Matthews, M. D., & Kelly, D.R. (2007). Grit: Perseverance and Passion for Long-Term Goals. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 92(6), 1087-1101. DOI: 10.1037/0022-3514.92.6.1087 Duckworth, A.L., & Quinn, P.D. (2009). Development and Validation of the Short Grit Scale (Grit–S). Journal of Personality Assessment, 91(2), 166-174, DOI: 10.1080/00223890802634290 Fonagy, P., Steele, M., Steele, H., Higgitt, & Target, M. (1994). The Emanuel Miller memorial lecture 1992: The theory and practice of resilience. Journal of Child Psychology and Psychiatry, 35(2), 231-257. Heckman, J. J., & Rubinstein, Y. (1991). The Importance of Noncognitive Skills: Lessons from the GED Testing Program. The American Economic Review, 91(2), 145-149. Härnqvist, K. (2000). Evaluation through follow-up. A longitudinal program for studying education and career development. In C.-G. Janson (ed.), Seven Swedish longitudinal studies in behavioural science (p. 76-114). Stockholm: Forskningsrådsnämnden. Martin, A. J., & Marsh, H. W. (2009). Academic resilience and academic buoyancy: Multidimensional and hierarchical conceptual framing of causes, correlates and cognate constructs. Oxford Review of Education, 35(3), 353-370. Muthén, L., & Muthén, B. (1998–2018). Mplus User’s Guide, 8th Edition. Los Angeles, CA: Muthén & Muthén. Scelfo, J. (2016 April 8). Angela Duckworth on passion, grit and success. The New York Times. Retrieved from: https://www.nytimes.com/2016/04/10/education/edlife/passion-grit-success.html Sirin, S. R. (2005). Socioeconomic status and academic achievement: A meta-analytic review of research. Review of Educational Research, 75(3), 417-453.