ISEDJ

Abstract: Grit has been highlighted in recent research as a distinct trait believed to be associated with performance and success factors above and beyond those explained by cognitive ability. It focuses on the dedication required to meet long-term goals and is represented by two subscales: consistency of interest and perseverance of effort. The overall goal of the current study is to understand the operation of the grit construct and its relationship with key demographic factors for information systems students specifically. Data was collected from 176 information systems undergraduate and graduate students at a public university in the southeastern United States. Analysis was conducted using structural equation modeling. Individual models were created and examined that included grit and key factors shown in previous research as related to grit: age, GPA, and gender. Additional factors were included related to employment status (full-time, part-time, unemployed) and academic classification (freshman, sophomore, junior, senior, and graduate student). Findings from the analysis of the grit structure in conjunction with these different factors indicate that grit and employment status are related. Individuals that specified they were employed full-time had higher levels of grit. For this group of students, findings revealed some inconsistencies with previous research and the relationship of grit to the additional factors studied, highlighting the need for discipline-specific examinations of construct. A detailed discussion of the results is provided along with implications and suggestions for future research.

Keywords: grit, information systems students, Grit-S, long-term goals, perseverance

Download this article: ISEDJ - V16 N1 Page 21.pdf

Recommended Citation: Brooks, N., Seipel, S. (2018). Grit and the Information Systems Student: A Discipline-Specific Examination of Perseverance and Passion for Long Term Goals . Information Systems Education Journal, 16(1) pp 21-32. http://isedj.org/2018-16/ ISSN: 1545-679X. (A preliminary version appears in The Proceedings of EDSIG 2017)