Grit and Retention Among First Year Hispanic College Students at a Hispanic Serving Institution

Abstract

Hispanic college students attending a Hispanic Serving Institution (HSI) in the southwest United States were administered the short grit survey during new student orientation for 2 consecutive years ( N = 496) to ascertain the association with grit scores and retention after the first year of university attendance. Results indicate that there was a gender difference in grit scores and retention. Few grit survey items were associated with retention, thus suggesting that the grit survey may not be an appropriate predictor of retention for first-generation Hispanic college students.

Exploring Relationships Between Grit, Belonging, Institutional Compassion, Pandemic Stress, and Goal Progress Among Emerging Adult Post-Secondary Students

“…And among Black men pursuing post-secondary education, grit predicted positive development outcomes and collegiate success above other academic indicators such as grade point average or ACT scores ( Strayhorn, 2013 ). On the other hand, grit does not appear to predict retention for Hispanic college students ( Lopez & Horn, 2020 ). And Grit-S scores ( Duckworth & Quinn, 2009 ) the most common measure of grit, were weakly associated with demographic variables—including ethnicity—in a meta-analysis of grit studies representing 66,807 diverse individuals ( Crede et al, 2017 ).…”

Risk Factors and Effectiveness of Implemented Academic Interventions on Student Retention at a Hispanic-Serving Institution

“…Johnson et al (2018) study concluded that a low high school GPA is the strongest predictor for no-retention. Lopez and Horn (2020) found high school GPA to be a strong predictor of retention in a southwest, midsized, comprehensive, 4-year HSI; while McCabe et al (2020) found that first semester college GPA is not a predictive factor for retention but that high school GPA is. Two studies that did not find high school GPA to be a risk factor for retention were the studies by Laskey andHetzel (2011) andSaunders-Scott et al (2018).…”

“…These early academic outcomes, such as first semester GPA and number of earned hours, have a major impact on the student's successful adjustment to college (Pascarella & Terenzini, 1991). Other risk factors include gender, ethnicity, first-generation, socioeconomic status, and living off campus among others (Bean, 1985;Glenn, 2003;Lopez & Horn, 2020;Mattern et al, 2015, Mbuva, 2011Pascarella et al, 2004). Mattern et al (2015) performed cluster analysis to examine retention after the first year of college using a national database that includes diverse students and academic institution profiles.…”

“…These results reflect the literature on the effect of high school GPA and retention. Several studies showed high school GPA to be a strong predictor of college students' retention (Johnson et al, 2018;Lopez & Horn 2020;McCabe et al, 2020;Murtaugh et al, 1999), while others did not (Laskey & Hetzel, 2011;Saunders-Scott et al, 2018). Johnson et al (2018) study concluded that a low high school GPA is the strongest predictor for no-retention.…”

“…Risk factors associated with attrition of university students and academic interventions designed to improve success have been reported (Johnson et al., 2018; Lopez & Horn, 2020; Pascarella et al., 2004; Pratt et al., 2019; Reyes, 2011; Toven-Lindsey et al., 2015). Some higher education institutions analyze their own students’ risk factors, or refer to the literature to identify factors that might apply to their own students and develop success plans to improve student retention.…”