Is Grit the Best Predictor of University Students’ Academic Achievement?

Abstract

This paper investigated the predictors of academic achievement of university students in two courses for second-year students in a public university in Ghana. Using a quantitative design, data were collected from 154 second-year trainee teachers (for the 2019/2020 academic year), randomly selected from the said public university. The study showed a direct significant relationship between gender, age, motivation to study, and academic achievement in two education courses. Again, age, gender, motivation, and grit were significant predictors of student academic achievement in two education courses, with grit as the best predictor contributing to 67% variability in student academic achievement. Based on the results, the study recommended that university authorities, among other things, should, through their academic and quality assurance sections, determine students' grit levels, identify those likely to have challenges, initiate appropriate measures to enhance perseverance and retention, thereby, improving academic achievement.

Keywords: grit, economics, office management, academic achievement, motivation

DOI: 10.7176/JEP/11-29-08

Publication date:October 31^st 2020