ABSTRACT
This chapter discusses ways in which grit is antithetical to the aims of participatory research and evaluation of programs, where student and community success are intertwined to uplift communities of color and their members. Holo i ka ʻAuwai, the epistemology of place, intergenerational engagement, and collaboration over competition are offered as ways to enhance student success instead of foundational concepts of grit that rely on individual effort and persistence to overcome barriers. Holo i ka ʻAuwai/Flowing with (or in) the Stream gives the idea of being a part of a larger force or group rather than this idea of uplifting one’s status and success through individual effort. The ʻauwai echoes the authors’ argument that collective empowerment is a pathway for student success, rather than grit. The chapter posits that participatory evaluation and research methods such as asset mapping, Q-sort methodology, digital storytelling, and pláticas all empower students and their communities to draw up their collective ancestry, history, place, and elements of community cultural wealth to achieve goals that are defined by cultures and communities as opposed to conventions of dominant culture.
