The impact of grit on academic achievement in higher education

Globally, academic achievement holds a paramount position in the realm of education, given the prevalent challenges of high dropout and failure rates. Non -cognitive skills, notably grit, have emerged as crucial factors closely related to academic performance. The aim of this study was to explore the relationship between grit and academic performance in 576 students from the Faculty of Educational Sciences of the University of Granada. The Kruskal-Wallis H test for independent samples and the Mann Whitney U test for two independent samples were performed to identify the presence of differences in grit as a function of age, sex, degree and course, and academic performance as a function of grit. Spearman's correlation analysis was also performed between the study variables. In particular, the results reflected significant differences in perseverance in effort as a function of field of study and gender differences were observed in both perseverance of effort and determination. Moreover, the findings demonstrated noteworthy, statistically significant differences in the academic performance of the participants based on their levels of grit. Moreover, a discernible trend emerged, showing that university students with elevated levels of grit tended to exhibit superior academic performance. These results represent a significant contribution within the context of grit studies in Spain, as they underscore the substantial influence of this non-cognitive trait on the academic accomplishments of university students.