This short-term longitudinal study asked (a) how and for whom socioemotional factors like grit and emotional engagement predict later literacy achievement; and (b) if there are reciprocal effects between literacy and these socioemotional factors. An autoregressive crosslagged (ARCR) design included 3 time points over 4 months with an ethnic minority, dual language learner sample (n 5 142; 54% female; 75% Latina/o; M 5 9.47 years old). The procedure at each time point included teacher-reported student emotional engagement and adapted grit questionnaires in addition to a student literacy achievement performance task. A reciprocal model (i.e., socioemotional factors and literacy affect each other) was compared to direct (i.e., socioemotional factors impact literacy) and reverse (i.e., literacy impacts socioemotional factors) models. Results suggested that the reciprocal model fit better than the direct and reverse models. Within the reciprocal ARCR model, grit had a significant impact on later literacy achievement via the mediator of engagement and moderated by age. Findings hold implications for education discourse on reciprocal and indirect effects of grit on achievement among older elementaryaged dual language learners.
The goal of this short-term longitudinal study was to examine the functioning of the grit measure; grit's relation to emotional engagement; and grit's prediction of later literacy achievement, above and beyond emotional engagement, among dual language learners. Data were collected at two time points four months apart with dual language learner, third- through fifth-grade students ( n = 142; 75% Latina/o; mean age 9.47 years old; 54% female). Results suggested that student- and teacher-reported grit scores were reliable and fit the two-factor construct, and grit overlapped with engagement. We found that teacher-reported engagement and student- and teacher-reported grit perseverance of effort (grit-pe) were significant sole predictors of Time 2 literacy achievement; teacher-reported engagement, not grit, remained a significant sole predictor even when controlling for Time 1 literacy achievement. When including grit-pe, grit consistency of interests, and engagement in the same model, student-reported grit-pe was the only significant predictor of Time 2 literacy achievement, without Time 1 literacy as a control. Discussion centers on grit-pe's utility for prediction of literacy achievement, above and beyond similar socioemotional constructs, among young dual language learners.
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