Abstract
This study tests the importance of a noncognitive trait, grit, to predicting grades for a sample of Black males attending a predominantly White institution. Using multivariate statistics and hierarchical regression techniques, results suggest that grit is positively related to college grades for Black males and that background traits, academic factors, and grit explain 24 % of the variance in Black male’s college grades. Grit, alone, added incremental predictive validity over and beyond traditional measures of academic success such as high school grade point average and American College Test scores. Implications for policy and practice are highlighted.
Similar content being viewed by others
References
Astin, A. W. (2003). Studying how college affects students: A personal history of the CIRP. About Campus, 8(3), 21–28.
Bandura, A. (1997). Self-efficacy: The exercise of control. New York: Freeman.
Berger, J. A., & Heath, C. (2005). Idea habitats: How the prevalence of environmental cues influences the success of ideas. Cognitive Science: A Multidisciplinary Journal, 29(2), 195–221.
Bonner, F. A., II, & Bailey, K. W. (2006). Enhancing the academic climate for African American men. In M. J. Cuyjet & Associates (Eds.), African American men in college (pp. 24–46). San Francisco: Jossey-Bass.
Crawford, S. D., Couper, M. P., & Lamia, M. J. (2001). Web surveys: perceptions of burden. Social Science Computer Review, 19, 146–162.
Cuyjet, M. J. (2006). African American college men: twenty-first century issues and concerns. In M. J. Cuyjet & Associates (Eds.), African American men in college (pp. 3–23). San Francisco: Jossey-Bass.
Duckworth, A. L., Kirby, T. A., Tsukayama, E., Berstein, H., & Ericsson, K. A. (2011). Deliberate practice spells success: why grittier competitors triumph at the National Spelling Bee. Social Psychological and Personality Science, 2(2), 174–181.
Duckworth, A. L., Peterson, C., Matthews, M. D., & Kelly, D. R. (2007). Grit: perseverance and passion for long-term goals. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 92(6), 1087–1101.
Duckworth, A. L., & Quinn, P. D. (2009). Development and validation of the short grit scale (Grit-S). Journal of Personality Assessment, 91(2), 166–174.
Fleming, J. (1984). Blacks in college: a comparative study of student’s success in Black and White institutions. San Francisco: Jossey-Bass.
Flowers, L. A. (2002). The impact of college racial composition on African American students’ academic and social gains: additional evidence. Journal of College Student Development, 43, 403–410.
Flowers, L. A. (2003). Effects of college racial composition on African American students’ interactions with faculty. College Student Affairs Journal, 23, 54–63.
Flowers, L. A. (2006). Effects of attending a 2-year institution on African American males’ academic and social integration in the first year of college. Teachers College Record, 108(2), 267–286.
Flowers, L. A. (2007). Descriptive analysis of African American students’ involvement in college: implications for higher education and student affairs professionals. In J. F. L. Jackson (Ed.), Strengthening the African American educational pipeline: informing research, policy, and practice (pp. 73–96). Albany: State University of New York Press.
Gosling, S. D., Vazire, S., Srivastava, S., & John, O. P. (2004). Should we trust web-based studies? A comparative analysis of six preconceptions about Internet questionnaires. American Psychologist, 59, 93–104.
Hagedorn, L. S., Maxwell, W., & Hampton, P. (2007). Correlates of retention for African American males in community colleges. In A. Seidman (Ed.), Minority student retention: the best of the Journal of College Student Retention: Research, Theory, & Practice (pp. 7–27). Amityville: Baywood.
Harper, S. R. (2006). Enhancing African American male student outcomes through leadership and active involvement. In M. J. Cuyjet & Associates (Eds.), African American men in college (pp. 68–94). San Francisco: Jossey-Bass.
Harper, S. R., Carini, R. M., Bridges, B. K., & Hayek, J. C. (2004). Gender differences in student engagement among African American undergraduates at historically Black colleges and universities. Journal of College Student Development, 45(3), 271–284.
League, N. U. (2007). The State of Black America 2007: portrait of the Black male. New York: Beckham Publications Group, Inc.
Nock, M. K., Park, J. M., Finn, C. T., Deliberto, T. L., Dour, H. J., & Banaji, M. R. (2010). Measuring the suicidal mind: implicit cognition predicts suicidal behavior. Psychological Science, 21(4), 511–517.
Pascarella, E. T., & Terenzini, P. T. (2005). How college affects students: a third decade of research (Vol. 2). San Francisco: Jossey-Bass.
Rojas, J. P., Reser, J. A., Usher, E. L., & Toland, M. D. (2012). Psychometric properties of the academic grit scale. Lexington: University of Kentucky.
Singh, K., & Jha, S. D. (2008). Positive and negative affect, and grit as predictors of happiness and life satisfaction. Journal of the Indian Academy of Applied Psychology, 34, 40–45.
Strayhorn, T. L. (2008a). Fittin’ in: do diverse interactions with peers affect sense of belonging for Black men at predominantly White institutions? NASPA Journal, 45(4), 501–527.
Strayhorn, T. L. (2008b). The role of supportive relationships in facilitating African American males’ success in college. NASPA Journal, 45(1), 26–48.
Strayhorn, T. L. (2012). College students’ sense of belonging: a key to educational success. New York: Routledge.
U.S. Department of Education, National Center for Education Statistics. (2011). The condition of education 2011 (NCES report no. 2010-081). Washington, DC: U.S. Government Printing Office.
Vaughn, B. E., Bost, K. K., & van Ijzendoorn, M. H. (2008). Attachment and temperament: additive and interactive influences on behavior, affect, and cognition during infancy and childhood. In J. Cassidy & P. R. Shaver (Eds.), Handbook of attachment: theory, research, and clinical applications (2nd ed., pp. 192–216). New York: Guilford.
Vogt, W. P. (1999). Dictionary of statistics and methodology: a non-technical guide for the social sciences. Thousand Oaks: Sage.
Zhao, M., Lee, L., & Soman, D. (2012). Crossing the virtual boundary: the effect of task-irrelevant environmental cues on task implementation. Psychological Science, 23(10), 1200–1207.
Acknowledgments
Research presented in this study was supported, in part, by grant funds from the National Science Foundation (NSF), Division of Research on Learning, EHR #0747304. Opinions reflect those of the author and not necessarily those of the granting agency.
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Corresponding author
Rights and permissions
About this article
Cite this article
Strayhorn, T.L. What Role Does Grit Play in the Academic Success of Black Male Collegians at Predominantly White Institutions?. J Afr Am St 18, 1–10 (2014). https://doi.org/10.1007/s12111-012-9243-0
Published:
Issue Date:
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s12111-012-9243-0