Paper Summary
Title: Grit: The Long and Short of It
Source: Journal of Educational Psychology
Authors: Monica Morell et al.
Published Date: 2021-01-01
Podcast Transcript
Hello, and welcome to Paper-to-Podcast, where we turn academic papers into digestible, and dare I say delicious, audio morsels. Today, we're taking a gritty journey into the world of... well, grit. The paper in question, cheekily titled 'Grit: The Long and Short of It,' is by Monica Morell and colleagues, and was published in the Journal of Educational Psychology in 2021.
Now, if you're thinking grit is just small, loose particles of stone or sand, please stick with me. In the educational context, grit is defined as passion and perseverance for achieving long-term goals. But hang on to your hats, folks, because Morell and her team have found out that it's not as simple as it sounds. You see, what they've discovered is that "grit" varies across different age groups and cultures. They studied 1,250 U.S. high school students, 600 U.S. college students, and 500 Korean college students. And guess what? Grit isn't this one-size-fits-all concept we thought it was.
Here's where it gets intriguing: the "grittiest" part of a student, the aspect that was the strongest predictor of grades, was not their overall grittiness, but specifically their perseverance of effort. This was true across the board in all three samples. So, if you're trying to improve students' overall grit to enhance their achievement, you might be putting the cart before the horse. Or as I like to say, you might be putting the grit before the goal!
The research team used some top-notch methodology for this study. They used two measures to assess grit - the Grit-S scale, which is a widely used measure, and a newly developed LT-Grit scale that focuses on long-term aspects. The Grit-S scale comprises two subcomponents: consistency of interests and perseverance of effort. The researchers also employed multidimensional item response models and structural equation models to analyze the data. Pretty gritty stuff, right?
Now, every study has its limitations, and this one's no exception. For instance, the high school sample predominantly consisted of students from private schools, which might limit the generalizability of the results. The study also didn't examine other motivational and self-regulation variables that could affect the relationship of grit to achievement. And as for the LT-Grit scale, further research is needed to assess its reliability and validity across different samples.
So what can we take away from all this? Well, this paper has major implications for the world of education. It suggests that 'grit', or perseverance in achieving long-term goals, is not a universal construct. So, educators need to take into account cultural and age-specific variations when developing strategies to help students achieve their long-term goals. In other words, it's not about how much grit you have, but how you use it that really counts.
And that's the long and short of 'Grit: The Long and Short of It.' I hope you've enjoyed this episode of Paper-to-Podcast. If you'd like to delve further into the gritty details, you can find this paper and more on the paper2podcast.com website. Stay gritty, folks!
Supporting Analysis
This paper takes a deep dive into the concept of "grit," a hot buzzword in the education world. Grit is defined as passion and perseverance for achieving long-term goals, but the research found that it's not quite that simple. They found that "grit" varies across different age groups and cultures (1,250 U.S. high school students, 600 U.S. college students, and 500 Korean college students were studied), and isn't consistent. Interestingly, the aspect of "grit" that was the strongest predictor of grades was not the overall "grittiness" of a student, but specifically their perseverance of effort. This was true across the board in all three samples. The research also highlighted that interventions to improve students’ overall grit to enhance their achievement might be putting the cart before the horse. It seems that the world of grit is a bit grittier than we thought!
This research investigated the concept of "grit", defined as passion and perseverance for achieving long-term goals. The study examined the factor structure of grit in different age groups and cultures, specifically comparing high school and college students in the U.S. and South Korea. The researchers used two measures to assess grit - the Grit-S scale, a widely used measure, and a newly developed LT-Grit scale that focuses on long-term aspects. The Grit-S scale comprises two subcomponents: consistency of interests and perseverance of effort. The research utilized multidimensional item response models and structural equation models to analyze the data. The researchers also investigated the relationship between grit and academic grades in science and math courses. In terms of the procedure, participants completed a questionnaire and their academic grades were collected from school records. The responses were then analyzed using a one-stage estimation approach. The researchers also took into account the potential effects of missing data on their results.
The researchers followed best practices in several compelling ways. Firstly, they employed a robust and comprehensive methodology involving multidimensional item response theory (MIRT) and structural equation models to test the factor structure of grit. This approach is highly commendable as it allows for a nuanced understanding of the construct. Secondly, the research was undertaken with large and diverse samples across different age groups and cultures, enhancing the generalizability of the findings. The use of both the Grit-S and the newly developed LT-Grit scale also brings a fresh perspective. Finally, the researchers' decision to simultaneously estimate the relationship between item responses, factor scores, and regression parameters in a single stage of estimation, rather than using a two-stage estimation approach, is a noteworthy methodological choice. This approach is likely to yield more accurate results and avoid misleading conclusions, demonstrating the researchers' commitment to rigorous and accurate data analysis.
The study has a few limitations worth noting. Firstly, the high school sample predominantly consisted of students from private schools, which may limit the generalizability of the results to the broader population of high school students. The same issue applies to the two college samples. Therefore, it may not be entirely accurate to apply these findings to all high school and college students. Secondly, the study only examined the direct relations of grit, perseverance of effort (PE), and consistency of interests (CI) to academic achievement outcomes. It did not consider that other motivational and self-regulation variables might mediate or moderate the direct relationship of grit to achievement. Lastly, more research is needed on the Long Term-Grit (LT-Grit) scale to assess its reliability and validity across different samples, as this study represents an initial assessment of this measure.
The research provides significant insights that can be applied in educational settings, particularly in understanding and evaluating student motivation and performance. The findings can help educators to realize that 'grit', or perseverance in achieving long-term goals, may not be a universal construct and its influence can vary across different age and cultural groups. This knowledge could inform the development of more tailored educational strategies and interventions that take into account the cultural and age-specific variations in how students approach their long-term goals. The research also underscores the importance of considering other motivational and self-regulation variables when trying to enhance academic achievement. In addition, the methodological advances highlighted in this study can guide future research on 'grit' and related constructs, promoting the use of more robust and sophisticated analytical approaches.