Debunking the grit-retention relation among historically disadvantaged students in a South African Open Distance e-Learning (ODeL) institution

Abstract

ABSTRACT This paper sought to examine psychological grit, defined as passion and perseverance for long-term goals, and its efficacy in determining postgraduate retention among historically disadvantaged students enrolled at the University of South Africa (UNISA). The Grit-S scale was used to gauge the level of grit among the participants (n = 594) followed by one-year lagged secondary data, which sought to ascertain retention among the sample. Previous performance at an undergraduate level (i.e. passed or passed with distinction) and demographic attributes (i.e. gender, age, ethnicity and home language) were also included in the scale and used as controls. Results from the binary logistic regression revealed that psychological grit is not a significant predictor of retention from one year to the next (β = .02, OR = 1.02, p = .91), nor does it add incremental value when controlling for previous undergraduate performance and demographic attributes (β = .08, OR = 1.09, p = .58). The paper concludes with a discussion on these pertinent results.