Grit Predicts Academic Achievement among Undergraduate Science Teachers at a University of Science and Technolog

Abstract

Background: Research shows that grit is one of the non-cognitive factors that affect academic achievement among college students. As a result, grit has of late attracted attention among academic circles. Methods: We used a correlational research design and a quantitative technique to establish the association between grit and academic achievement among pre-service science teachers. The sample was taken using a census and comprised 381 participants. The study site was a university of science and technology in Mbarara city, Uganda. A self-administered questionnaire was used for data collection. The analytical strategy was linear regression models, at a significance of p ≤.05. Results: In the findings, 22.69 (SD = 1.43) was the mean age of the study participants. The majority of the students were male (80.3%) and government-sponsored (53.3%). There was a significant and positive association between grit and the academic achievement of the students (B =.231, p <.001). Overall, 5.1% of students’ academic achievement was explained by grit. Conclusion: Grit is a relatively important non-academic element that predicts academic achievement among pre service teachers of science. Focused intervention is necessary for improving undergraduate students’ grit and enhancing their achievement in their Science with Education program.