ABSTRACT
Psychologist Angela Duckworth and colleagues presented the concept of grit in the educational psychology literature in 2007, defi ning it as “perseverance and passion for long-term goals” (Duckworth, Peterson, Matthews, & Kelly, 2007, p. 1087). Other defi nitions of grit include “passionate commitment to a single mission and an unswerving dedication to achieve that mission” (Tough, 2012, p. 74), and “self-discipline wedded to a dedicated pursuit of a goal” (p. 136). Th e research concerning grit, primarily quantitative in nature and supported by government and foundation grants, has led to grit’s inclusion in the Common Core State Standards and among the 21st-century competencies promoted by the governments of many industrialized nations in K-12 and higher education (Shechtman, DeBarger, Dornsife, Rosier, & Yarnall, 2013). In 2015, school districts across California began grading students’ grit on report cards (Kalb, 2015). Another example is found in the Knowledge Is Power Program (KIPP) charter schools, whose mission focuses on developing in students character traits such as grit that KIPP identifi es as “needed to succeed in college and the competitive world beyond” (KIPP, n. d.).
