A New Approach to Measuring Academic Grit and Life Skills in Tanzania

• In Event: Innovative Approaches to Measuring Social Emotional Skills: Instruments and Findings From National and International Studies

Abstract

Objectives/purpose. Substantial research has shown that acquiring life skills can play a large role in determining a child’s success in school and beyond (Heckman 2012). Academic grit, characterized as perseverance and passion for long-term goals, has been shown to be a strong predictor of a student’s future success in school and life. The objectives of this paper are: to present an alternative method of self-reporting for applications with young children (ages 7 to 8); assess the method’s reliability and validity; and to explore the impact of grit on learning outcomes.
Theoretical framework. Drawing from prior research, the authors defined academic grit as “perseverance and passion for long-term goals” (Duckworth 2007). Self-report questions were adapted from the “Academic Grit Scale” developed by Rojas et al. at the University of Kentucky (Rojas et al. 2013). The Rojas questions, in turn, were derived from Duckworth’s “Short Grit Scale.”
Methods. The 7-item academic grit questionnaire, as well as early grade reading and math assessments, was given to 961 children selected through a three-stage selection process (councils within regions, schools within councils, and classes within schools). Eight students of each gender were randomly selected from each class. Studies of using computer-assisted technology to administer the instrument are under consideration.
Data sources/evidence. Though original questions were derived from well-established tools and protocols, the authors found that young pupils in Tanzania had difficulty understanding how to respond to phrases such as “I work hard all the time.” Moreover, the 5-point scale often used in similar self-report questionnaires did not perform well, and was reduced to a 3-point scale. In addition the authors adapted the questions to be more appropriate and relevant for young children, from introspective “I” statements to brief stories describing hypothetical children used as anchoring vignettes.
Results/conclusions. The study found that high academic grit was a positive, marginally significant, predictor of strong performance in both reading and mathematics. Low academic grit was found to be a positive (and highly significant) predictor of weak performance in reading and mathematics. Academic grit was not strongly correlated with pupil demographic data. The authors then split the data according to median income and re-ran the analysis. Among pupils in the above-median SES group, children with high academic grit read an average of 8.4 words per minute faster (p=0.0024) than children with low academic grit. Among the below-median SES group, children with high academic grit read 12.3 more words per minute (p=0.008). The predictive impact of high academic grit was larger and more statistically significant among children with lower SES. These findings suggest that intervening to increasing academic grit levels could help children with low SES overcome some barriers to performance.
Scientific/scholarly significance. To the authors’ knowledge, questions designed to measure academic grit have not been employed among primary school pupils in Tanzania. Further, findings suggest that this particular type of adapted self-report questionnaire, which used descriptions of hypothetical students rather than typical “I” statements, may be more reliable and valid for applications with young children.

Author

• Amy Mulcahy-Dunn, RTI International