In research on educational equity students from socioeconomically disadvantaged homes are typically depicted as low-performers and more likely to fail in school (Sirin, 2005). However, there is a group of students who despite their disadvantaged background manage to succeed in school. This capacity to overcome adversities in the education and still reach successful achievements is referred to as Academic Resilience. Understanding the mechanisms that these resilient students rely upon in their schooling is important knowledge for effective policy interventions.

When investigating academic resilience in educational settings both socioemotional and cognitive factors, such as high self-efficacy, perseverance, willingness and capacity to plan, low anxiety and high IQ, have been shown to be related to higher academic achievement and also enhancing academic resilience (e.g. Duckworth, et al., 2007; Fonagy, et al., 1994; Martin & Marsh, 2009). It has even been suggested that socioemotional factors could be more important in explaining the achievements for disadvantaged students (e.g. Heckman & Rubinstein, 2001). In line with these arguments, Grit, has been suggested as an excellent predictor of success, over and above intelligence (e.g. Duckworth et al., 2007), particularly in contexts characterised by high levels of adversity (Duckworth & Gross, 2014). Grittier individuals were shown to have higher levels of education as well as grade point averages (GPA) (Duckworth et al., 2007). Additionally, Grit is suggested to be a stronger predictor of success than cognitive ability (e.g. Scelfo, 2016). Grit is defined as the perseverance of effort and consistency of interest or passion for long-term goals (Duckworth et al., 2007; Duckworth & Quinn, 2009) implying that it entails the capacity for “working strenuously toward challenges, maintaining effort and interest over years despite failure, adversity, and plateaus in progress” (Duckworth, et al., 2007, p. 1087). Gritty individuals are typically depicted as being able to stay on task despite feelings of boredom an ability claimed to be essential for achievement (Duckworth, et al., 2007). The definition of Grit also includes its hierarchical nature, i.e. the combination of perseverance and passion forms the higher order construct of grit (Duckworth & Quinn, 2009).  

Even if the concept of Grit has been widely recognized in research studies and adopted in a range of school-based interventions it does not stand without criticism. In an essay by Credé (2018) several issues are raised in relation to the concept. For example, Credé, Tynan, & Harms (2017) found in their study that when perseverance and passion were considered separately, they predicted success better than an overall Grit score. Instead Credé (2018) suggests that it is possible that “grit represent the unique combination of high levels of perseverance and (simultaneously) high levels of passion” (p. 607). This would imply that perseverance as a predictor of success would be dependent on the level of passion, i.e. that the predictive power of perseverance on measures of performance is stronger when and individual is high in passion (Credé, 2018). In addition, Credé (2018) is arguing that the focus on already successful individuals can distort the results and overestimate the importance of both perseverance and passion.

The purpose of the present study is twofold. First, we investigate the measurement properties of Grit in a Swedish compulsory school setting. With Duckworth’s two-dimensional model as point of departure (i.e., perseverance and passion), we take into account additionally the interaction between the two dimensions in predicting learning outcomes. Another purpose is to examine whether or not the resilient students are grittier than the non-resilient ones.