Predicting educational attainment: Does grit compensate for low levels of cognitive ability?

Abstract

This study examined the role of cognitive ability in moderating grit's predictive effect on educational outcomes. Using a large, representative sample of young adults, we estimated multivariate regression models for the probability of graduating from high school, enrolling in college, earning any college degree, and earning a college degree. For each outcome, the effect of grit (and, alternatively, consistency of interest and perseverance of effort) was allowed to differ for students in each quartile of the cognitive ability distribution. We found that the predicted effect of grit-which is dominated by the effect of perseverance-is almost entirely concentrated among students at both the high and low ends of the cognitive ability distribution. We also found that grit's predictive power increases with each successive educational outcome for high-ability students, but not for low-ability students. The findings are consistent with the notion that highability students adopt self-regulated learning processes that exploit their grit, especially as educational tasks become more challenging. For low-ability students, it appears that grit plays a compensatory role. Relatively few low-ability students attain each educational outcome, but those who do appear to benefit from the effective substitution of grit for cognitive ability.

Does Learning English Require Grit? Examining the Differential Effects on Grades in Core Subjects

“…Research on grit has also revealed differentiated effects for low-and high-ability students. In demanding situations, low-ability students substitute their ability with a higher level of grit, while high-ability students' ability is complemented by grit (Light & Nencka, 2019). These findings indicate that grit might be more valuable in circumstances of adversity, and across different subgroups.…”

“…The literature shows that grit is associated with range of positive factors including academic effort (e.g., time spent on practice) learning outcomes (Duckworth et al, 2011), high-school graduation (Light & Nencka, 2019), retention (Eskreis-Winkler et al, 2014), academic performance (Li et al, 2018) and student well-being (Datu et al, 2016;Disabato et al, 2019;Vaino & Daukantaitè, 2016). Findings suggest that grittier individuals are better able to use their capabilities, find it easier to engage in extended learning practices, and are less likely to be distracted (Duckworth et al, 2011).…”

Temporal Stability of Grit and School Performance in Adolescents: A Longitudinal Perspective

“…In a metaanalysis, Credé et al (2017) showed that the relationship between grit and school performance was weak when it was modulated by other variables that grit is strongly related to, such as conscientiousness (Fite et al, 2017;Ivcevic & Brackett, 2014;Schmidt et al, 2018), selfefficacy (Usher et al, 2019), and self-control (Muenks et al, 2017). Nonetheless, many studies have found higher levels of grit to be related to better academic performance in university students (Akos & Kretchman, 2017;Bowman et al, 2015;Eskreis-Winkler et al, 2014;Fong & King, 2019;Hwang et al, 2018;Muenks, et al, 2017;Muenks et al, 2018), high school students (Duckworth & Quinn, 2009;Muenks et al, 2017Muenks et al, , 2018Steinmayr et al, 2018), and middle school students (Clark & Malecki, 2019;Dumfart & Neubauer, 2016;Hagger & Hamilton, 2018;Malanchini et al, 2018;Steinmayr et al, 2018;Tucker-Drob et al, 2016), and that grit plays a mediating role in the performance of students with low cognitive ability (Light & Nencka, 2019). Nonetheless, most of the work has been carried out with students in the USA, and few studies have been carried out in Europe (Dumfart & Neubauer, 2016;Steinmayr et al, 2018).…”

“…Another aspect to highlight is that it might be interesting for future research to consider students' cognitive capacity, given its significance in school performance (Chamorro-Premuzic & Furnham, 2004;Heckman & Kautz, 2012;Rosander & Backstrom, 2014). In this way, the extent of academic grit's mediating role may be studied, over time, based on the students' intellectual capabilities (Light & Nencka, 2019). Finally, it is important to reiterate that our results were obtained for a very specific age range (10-14), and so caution is advised when generalizing to other ages.…”

How grit is Related to Objectively Measured Moderate-to-Vigorous Physical Activity in School Student

“…One of the goals of contemporary physical education is also to prepare students for long lasting physical activity. Although several researchers (Cosgrove, Chen, & Castelli, 2018;Larkin, O'Connor, & Williams, 2016) have demonstrated the positive effect of grit on different behavioural domains, including education (Sturman & Zappala-Piemme, 2017;Light & Nencka, 2019;Collaco, 2018;Wang & Baker, 2018), there is limited understanding of the impact of personality trait, such as grit, on student engagement and outcomes in respect of physical activity (Wang & Degol, 2014). Moreover, there is a lack of studies that have examined the independent effects of grit on physical education outcomes, such as objectively measured leisure-time physical activity.…”