TRECHOS IMPORTANTES

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TRECHOS IMPORTANTES 
Grit: Perseverance and Passion for Long-Term Goals 
 Angela L. Duckworth 
Christopher Peterson 
Michael D. Matthews and Dennis R. Kelly 
 
Why do some individuals accomplish more than others of equal 
intelligence? 
We define grit as perseverance and passion for long-term goals. Grit entails 
working strenuously toward challenges, maintaining effort and interest over years 
despite failure, adversity, and plateaus in progress. The gritty individual 
approaches achievement as a marathon; his or her advantage is stamina. 
Whereas disappointment or boredom signals to others that it is time to change 
trajectory and cut losses, the gritty individual stays the course. 
Howe (1999) disputed the assumption that high achievement derives 
directly from exceptional mental ability: “Perseverance is at least as crucial as 
intelligence... The most crucial inherent differences may be ones of temperament 
rather than of intellect as such” (p. 15). 
According to Hough, the achievement-oriented individual is one who works 
hard, tries to do a good job, and completes the task at hand, whereas the 
dependable person is self-controlled and conventional (p. 144). 
Grit overlaps with achievement aspects of conscientiousness but differs in 
its emphasis on long-term stamina rather than short-term intensity. The gritty 
individual not only finishes tasks at hand but pursues a given aim over years. Grit 
is also distinct from dependability aspects of conscientiousness, including self-
control, in its specification of consistent goals and interests. An individual high in 
self-control but moderate in grit may, for example, effectively control his or her 
temper, stick to his or her diet, and resist the urge to surf the Internet at work—
yet switch careers annually. 
Whereas individuals high in need for achievement pursue goals that are 
neither too easy nor too hard, individuals high in grit deliberately set for 
themselves extremely long-term objectives and do not swerve from them— even 
in the absence of positive feedback. 
Achievement is the product of talent and effort, the latter a function of the 
intensity, direction, and duration of one’s exertions toward a goal. 
Our findings suggest that children matched on talent and capacity for hard 
work may nevertheless differ in grit. Thus, a prodigy who practices intensively yet 
moves from piano to the saxophone to voice will likely be surpassed by an equally 
gifted but grittier child. 
 
Development and Validation of the Short Grit Scale (Grit–S) 
Angela Lee Duckworth 
Patrick D. Quinn 
 
Perseverance is more often studied as an outcome than as a predictor. 
Duckworth, Peterson, Matthews, and Kelly (2007) introduced the construct 
of grit, defined as trait-level perseverance and passion for long-term goals, and 
showed that grit predicted achievement in challenging domains over and beyond 
measures of talent. 
Grit entails the capacity to sustain both effort and interest in projects that 
take months or even longer to complete. Grit is also related to but distinct from 
need for achievement (n Achievement: McClelland, 1961). Individuals high in grit 
do not swerve from their goals, even in the absence of positive feedback. 
 The 8-item Grit–S is both shorter and psychometrically stronger than the 
12-item Grit–O. In confirmatory factor analyses, the Grit–S fit the data better than 
did that of the Grit–O. Moreover, the reduction of items from the Grit–O to the 
Grit–S does not come at the expense of predictive validity. Given its superior 
psychometric properties, comparable predictive validity, and fewer items relative 
to the Grit–O, we recommend the Grit–S as an economical measure of 
perseverance and passion for long-term goals. 
In prior studies, grittier individuals worked harder and longer in very 
challenging settings than did their less gritty peers; sustained effort despite 
adversity could theoretically have both a direct impact on performance and, 
through the accumulation of skill over time, an indirect benefit (Duckworth et al., 
2007; Duckworth & Quinn, 2009). 
 
Grit, conscientiousness, and the transtheoretical model of change for 
exercise behavior 
Justy Reed, Brian L Pritschet and David M Cutton 
 
Grit differs from the need for achievement (McClelland, 1961). Individuals 
who score high in the need for achievement strive for manageable goals that 
allow for immediate feedback, but those high in grit deliberately set long-term 
objectives and do not swerve from them even in the absence of feedback 
(Duckworth et al., 2007). Grit also differs from state-like individual differences 
such as self-efficacy. Whereas selfefficacy represents a belief or conviction about 
one’s ability to successfully complete a given task for a given situation, grit taps 
long-term stamina and persistence in completing a task or accomplishing a goal. 
Distinct from state-like individual differences, grit assesses a relatively stable trait-
like individual characteristic. 
Grit and conscientiousness share psychological space, but grit contains an 
element of long-term persistence that a conscientious person may or may not 
possess (Duckworth et al., 2007). 
The PEP finding suggests that Consistency reduced the importance of 
succeeding at the parity task. Although not intuitive, this finding is consistent with 
the psychological basis of having consistent interests. The Consistency subscale 
measures focusing on and sticking with a small cluster of valuable goals. 
 
Gritty people try harder: Grit and effort-related cardiac autonomic 
activity during an active coping challenge 
Paul J. Silvia, Kari M. Eddington, Roger E. Beaty, Emily C. Nusbaum, 
Thomas R. Kwapil 
 
Motivational intensity theory proposes that effort is a function of two factors: 
the importance of success and the perceived difficulty of attaining the goal. The 
importance of success defines how much effort people are willing to expend; the 
difficulty of attaining it defines actual effort. 
When a goal is more valuable, meaningful, or relevant to the self-concept, 
people are willing to expend more effort when necessary (Gendolla and Richter, 
2010). Research on grit indicates that people high in grit are more passionate 
about their goals and more dedicated to accomplishing them (Duckworth et al., 
2007), so it seems reasonable that the importance of success—and hence the 
level of potential effort—should be higher for gritty people. 
. Overall, then, grit scores had larger effects on the mobilization of effort 
during the task than on actual achievement, which is common given the imperfect 
relationships between effort and performance for most cognitive tasks. 
 
Predicting school success: Comparing Conscientiousness, Grit, and 
Emotion Regulation Ability 
Zorana Ivcevic, Marc Brackett 
 
While it is clear that academic achievement is predicted by intellectual 
abilities (Poropat, 2009), it is less clear what is the predictive power of 
psychological attributes at the intersection of emotions, cognition and self-
regulation. Conscientiousness – a personality trait that primarily describes 
impulse control and self-regulation of behavior (John, Naumann, & Soto, 2008) – 
has been consistently related to academic achievement (Poropat, 2009). 
Conscientiousness emerged as the personality trait most consistently and 
strongly correlated to academic success (Poropat, 2009), and initial studies of 
Grit showed relationships to various measures of academic achievement 
(Duckworth & Quinn, 2009; Duckworth et al., 2007). 
Conscientiousness is consistently related to school success across age and 
level of schooling, and largely independent of general intelligence (Poropat, 
2009). Conscientiousness predicts school success across cultures (e.g., U.S.: 
Noftle & Robins, 2007; Estonia: Laidra, Pullmann, & Allik, 2007; Croatia: Bratko, 
Chamorro-Premuzic, & Saks, 2006)Leiter, & Taris, 2008). 
Com base nas análises executadas constatou-se que as pessoas que 
priorizam os valores centrais (suprapessoal e existência) tendem a ser mais 
engajadas, apresentando uma alta dedicação, vigor e absorção frente às 
atividades acadêmicas. Isto sugere que o engajamento escolar tende a ser 
elevado quando os estudantes possuem como princípios guias valores da 
subfunção existência (e.g. sobrevivência e estabilidade pessoal) e suprapessoal 
(e.g. maturidade e conhecimento). 
Isso pode ser entendido na medida em que se compreende o engajamento 
como uma variável que impulsiona os estudantes a buscarem cada vez mais 
qualificação, facilitando assim, sua inserção no mercado de trabalho (Vieira, 
2011). Logicamente, essa conquista de espaço proporcionará um bom retorno 
financeiro e este promoverá um contexto em que suas necessidades básicas 
sejam facilmente supridas. 
Quanto à subfunção suprapessoal, marcada por uma maior ênfase em 
ideias abstratas (Gouveia, 2013), mostrou-se um importante motivador para o 
engajamento dos estudantes nas atividades acadêmicas, podendo este último 
ser influenciado pelos esforços pessoais para adquirir novos conhecimentos, 
enfatizando desta forma o engajamento cognitivo, o qual se refere ao 
investimento que cada um fará no processo de aprendizagem (Ainley, 1993). 
Este esforço, na maioria das vezes, pode ser acompanhado pela dedicação e 
investimento de tempo dos estudantes em realizar suas atividades escolares fora 
do ambiente institucional, visando a internalização de novas informações, além 
de preparar um alicerce para a compreensão de assuntos mais complexo 
(Rosário& cols., 2005). Estes resultados foram corroborados com os achados 
obtidos na análise de regressão, pois, os valores da subfunção suprapessoal se 
apresentaram como bons preditores do engajamento escolar. 
 
 
 
 
Student engagement in academic activities: a social support 
perspective 
Matthew J. Xerri & Katrina Radford & Kate Shacklock 
The underlying notion of student engagement is centred on the extent to 
which students are engaging in academic activities that have been linked to high-
quality student outcomes (Krause and Coates 2008). This includes engaging 
students in all activities of student academic life including: class attendance, 
assignment completion, interaction with peers and instructors, and enrolment and 
participation in extra-curricular activities (Schoffstall et al. 2013). 
Excessive content in higher education courses may result in students 
feeling overloaded (Feldon 2007), which may reduce their overall education 
experience, engagement, and retention. However, syllabi designed to balance 
the breadth and depth of the curriculum are important, to preserve suitable 
workloads and foster generic skill development (Lizzio et al. 2002). 
Kember (2004) found that the feeling of being overloaded by university 
workload was a function of many variables, including the learning environment, 
teacher-teacher relationships, student-teacher relationships and the approach a 
student takes to achieve the learning outcomes. Thus, perception of workload 
appears to be a subjective measure of experience for each student. However, it 
is important to manage perceptions of workload as they can result in heightened 
stress and decreased student engagement (Ruohoniemi and Lindblom-Ylänne 
2009). 
Specifically, our study found that when teacherstudent relationships were 
stronger, student engagement in academic activities was reported to be higher 
than when these relationships were weaker. 
Having a sense of purpose was found to impact students’ perceptions of 
workload and engagement in academic activities. This finding is in line with 
previous research by Wilson (2009), who found that understanding the 
reason/goal for attending university was important for fostering positive 
relationships with other students and teachers, and effectively managing 
perceived workloads. 
***Possíveis estudos futuros 
 
A ideia central do engajamento do estudante considera a aprendizagem do 
aluno, o ambiente da instituição, os recursos aplicados na aprendizagem e os 
professores, mantendo o foco no estudante e no ambiente universitário ao qual 
o mesmo está vinculado (COATES, 2005). 
Kift e Field (2009) afirmam que o currículo do curso, se intencionalmente 
elaborado, pode impactar o engajamento do estudante motivando-os a aprender, 
promovendo um clima positivo e encorajando os estudantes a serem ativos em 
sua aprendizagem. Evans, Hartman e Anderson (2013) apontam que a 
instituição de ensino deve oportunizar ao aluno momentos de lazer no campus, 
não apenas para promover o equilíbrio entre as atividades acadêmicas, mas, 
também, para melhorar o nível de engajamento do estudante. 
O engajamento do estudante auxilia professores e estudantes a se 
envolverem ativamente em experiências de aprendizagem. Ele pode ser visto 
como uma parceira que envolve alunos, professores e instituição de ensino para 
promover aprendizagem de qualidade (ZEPKE, 2013). 
A maioria dos modelos que estuda o sucesso do estudante aborda cinco 
distintas variáveis: (i) a vida pregressa do estudante, incluindo suas 
características demográficas e experiências antes do ingresso na instituição de 
ensino; (ii) as características estruturais da instituição de ensino como sua 
missão, tamanho e forma de seleção; (iii) a interação com os colegas, corpo 
docente e outros membros da instituição de ensino (iv) a percepção dos 
estudantes sobre o ambiente de aprendizagem, e (iv) a qualidade do esforço 
devotado para atividades com propósitos educacionais (ASTIN, 1993). 
Pascarella e Terenzini (2005) afirmam que é importante focar nas maneiras 
pelas quais as instituições podem organizar suas atividades acadêmicas, a 
forma de relacionamento interpessoal e as ofertas de atividades 
extracurriculares encorajando o engajamento do estudante. 
 
What motivates Chinese undergraduates to engage in learning? 
Insights from a psychological approach to student engagement research 
Hongbiao Yin 
 
Students’ active engagement in educationally purposeful activities has a 
positive relationship to their grades, critical thinking skills, and persistence 
between the first and second years of college (Fuller et al. 2011; Kuh et al. 2008), 
and students with less ability and students of color can benefit more from 
engagement than their classmates (Carini et al. 2006). 
These national surveys usually focus on a range of institutional practices 
and student behaviors related to learning and development, such as the time 
spent on tasks, teaching practices, student-faculty interactions, and institutional 
requirements or services. 
Based on a qualitative case study in one Chinese university, Zhang et al. 
(2015) classified the factors influencing Chinese undergraduates’ engagement 
into three groups: contextual (e.g., family, friends/classmates, and campus 
environment), institutional (e.g., course tutors), and personal (e.g., interest and 
personality). 
In this respect, the Motivation and Engagement Wheel developed by Martin 
(2007) provides a useful framework for conceptualizing student engagement. The 
wheel aims to bridge the gap between diverse theoretical perspectives about 
motivation and engagement, such as expectancy-value, attribution, and goal 
orientation theory. It also provides practitioners (e.g., educators, counselors, and 
psychologists) with a parsimonious framework that they can apply to their practice 
and clearly communicate to students. 
Specifically, the Motivation and Engagement Wheel is conceptualized at two 
levels, including 4 higher-order factors and 11 first-order factors. It comprises (1) 
adaptive motivation, reflecting students’ positive attitudes and orientations toward 
learning, which consist of self-efficacy (or self-belief), mastery orientation (or 
learning focus), and valuing;(2) adaptive engagement, reflecting students’ 
positive behavior and engagement in learning, including their persistence, 
planning, and task management; (3) maladaptive motivation, reflecting the 
attitudes and orientations that impede students’ academic learning, which consist 
of anxiety, failure avoidance, and uncertain control; and (4) maladaptive 
engagement, reflecting students’ problematic learning behavior, including self-
sabotage and disengagement (Martin 2007, 2012a, 2012b). 
 
***Futuros estudos: diferentes tipos de pesquisas nacionais de 
engajamento, estudo realizado com primeiros anos para testar os 
relacionamentos entre alunos e professores...and it predicts achievement over tutors’ 
expectations of performance (Chamorro-Premuzic & Furnham, 2003) and prior 
achievement (Noftle & Robins, 2007). 
As predicted, Conscientiousness, Grit and ERA had significant correlations 
with school outcomes (13 of 15 correlations statistically significant; with the 
exception of the correlations of Grit with GPA and academic honors). 
 
Self-Control and Grit: Related but Separable Determinants of 
Success 
Angela Duckworth and James J. Gross 
 
In the same framework, grit entails having a dominant superordinate goal 
(e.g., producing useful new insights into the psychological determinants of 
success) and tenaciously working toward it in the face of obstacles and setbacks, 
often for years or decades. 
Gritty individuals either can actively suppress rival superordinate goals or, 
consistent with descriptions of eminently productive individuals (Cox, 1926; 
Galton, 1869/2006), lack competing superordinate goals altogether. 
In other words, in a gritty individual’s domain of passionate interest, goals 
or actions deemed unfeasible are met with the response of an active search for—
or even invention of—viable alternatives. 
Self-control is required to adjudicate between lower-level goals entailing 
necessarily conflicting actions. One cannot eat one’s cake and have it later, too. 
In contrast, grit entails maintaining allegiance to a highest-level goal over long 
stretches of time and in the face of disappointments and setbacks. 
 
The relationship between grit and resident well-being 
Arghavan Salles, Geoffrey L. Cohen, Claudia M. Mueller 
 
Residents with more grit at baseline also had, on average, significantly 
higher levels of general psychological well-being 6 months later than those with 
less grit (B 5 .27, P , .01), again controlling for gender and baseline psychological 
well-being. 
This suggests that measuring grit may be one way to identify those who are 
at risk for burnout or lower overall well-being. Thus, program directors could use 
grit as a measure to identify residents who could benefit from additional support 
throughout their training. 
Although there are a number of factors that are likely to contribute to 
attrition, including lifestyle and interest in another specialty or career,10,13 we 
propose that grit might be a measurable identifier for this important career 
outcome. 
 
True Grit: Trait-level Perseverance and Passion for Long-term Goals 
Predicts Effectiveness and Retention among Novice Teachers 
Claire Robertson-Kraft and Angela Lee Duckworth 
 
Conceptually, grit is distinct from resilience, a term defined differently across 
authors but generally accepted to be a multidimensional construct describing 
successful adaptation to overwhelming adversity and stress. While popular 
measures of resilience often include perseverance as a component, they also 
tend to include other elements as well, such as equanimity and a balanced 
perspective on life (e.g., Wagnild & Young, 1993). Moreover, grit entails 
consistency of interests and goals over time, whereas the construct of resilience 
is agnostic on the stability of an individual’s interests. Grit is also different than 
leadership potential insofar as the arenas in which gritty individuals demonstrate 
their stamina need not be those that entail organizing and managing other people. 
Likewise, grit can be distinguished from conscientiousness, a multi-dimensional 
family of personality traits that encompasses perseverance but also includes 
tendencies toward responsibility, self-control, orderliness, and traditionalism 
(Roberts et al., 2005). While correlated with conscientiousness, grit provides 
incremental predictive validity for achievement outcomes, particularly in settings 
of high challenge (Author, 2007). 
Despite the “endemic uncertainties” associated with teaching practice, 
society continues to place incredibly high expectations on teachers. Moreover, 
beginning teachers are often asked to take on more difficult assignments (e.g., 
larger classes, more challenging students) than their experienced counterparts 
(Lortie, 1975). Given the challenges associated with teaching, particularly in the 
first few years of the profession, it seems logical that grit would positively impact 
teacher performance and persistence. 
Our analysis begins to fill that void, demonstrating that grit, defined as 
passion and perseverance for long-term goals, predicts both teacher retention 
and effectiveness. 
Unpacking grit: Motivational correlates of perseverance and passion 
for long-term goals 
Katherine R. Von Culin, Eli Tsukayama and Angela L. Duckworth 
 
Seekers of pleasure, who prefer to ‘eat dessert first,’ should be less likely to 
self-regulate and persist through unpleasant moments and more likely to switch 
focus to a novel, and more pleasurable pursuit. In contrast, seekers of meaning 
must develop their best skills and virtues over time and put them to work in the 
service of the greater good (Peterson et al., 2005). Since both facets of grit 
facilitate the achievement of this type of very long-term goal (Duckworth et al., 
2007), we expected individuals motivated by meaning to be more consistent in 
both effort and interests over time. 
the first model revealed that individuals who pursue happiness through 
engagement were especially gritty ( β = .34, pof grit research since previous 
studies have been based almost exclusively on predominantly White, mostly 
female, and adult or adolescent samples; indeed, more grit research is needed 
for college student samples. 
That grit—the tendency to pursue long-term challenging goals with 
perseverance and passion—was correlated with Black male collegians’ grades, 
holding all other factors constant, underscores the significance of this trait to 
achievement. 
If grit is positively associated with Black males’ college grades above and 
beyond traditional academic measures and grit is a malleable trait, then the 
question is how can one facilitate or nurture grit in college students? Parents and 
mentors of Black boys should talk with their sons about the importance of hard 
work and perseverance, dispelling any myths that assume “natural talent” or 
“sheer genius” over sustained effort. 
 
Keep on Truckin’ or Stay the Course? Exploring Grit Dimensions as 
Differential Predictors of Educational Achievement, Satisfaction, and 
Intentions 
Nicholas A. Bowman, Patrick L. Hill, Nida Denson, and Ryan Bronkema 
 
As shown in Table 1, perseverance of effort was positively associated with 
academic adjustment, college GPA, college sense of belonging, and college 
satisfaction (standardized bs > .20, psat a cost to 
themselves, in this case the cost of getting to attempt more problems. Because 
we incentivized performance (with entries into a lottery for $100), it seems that 
grittier participants were specifically trading off greater chances at monetary 
gains to persist at the more difficult questions. 
Compared to participants with lower grit, grittier participants not only 
increase effort when they are losing a game (Study 2), but also are more likely to 
stay and keep fighting a losing battle when they could quit (Study 3). Specifically, 
Study 3 provided additional evidence that gritty individuals engage in costly 
persistence. 
When given feedback that they were failing, grittier participants were more 
likely to persist rather than take the option to ‘‘quit while they were ahead,” 
thereby risking a monetary loss to persist in the math task. When given feedback 
that they were succeeding, participants who were high or low in grit chose to 
persist rather than quit. When facing the possibility of failure, grittier individuals 
pushed through their fear of failing to ‘‘stay the course,” whereas their less gritty 
counterparts were more likely to ‘‘change their direction in order to cut losses.” 
When given feedback that they were failing, grittier participants were more 
likely to persist rather than take the option to ‘‘quit while they were ahead,” 
thereby risking a monetary loss to persist in the math task. When given feedback 
that they were succeeding, participants who were high or low in grit chose to 
persist rather than quit. When facing the possibility of failure, grittier individuals 
pushed through their fear of failing to ‘‘stay the course,” whereas their less gritty 
counterparts were more likely to ‘‘change their direction in order to cut losses.” 
 
 
 
 
Positive Psychology and Familial Factors as Predictors of Latina/o 
Students’ Psychological Grit 
Javier C. Vela, Ming-Tsan P. Lu, A. Stephen Lenz, and Karina Hinojosa 
 
Hope served as the strongest predictor of psychological grit among Latina/o 
college students. This finding suggests that as the amount of hope increases, the 
level of psychological grit among Latina/o college students increases. 
This finding suggests that Latina/o students who search for meaning and 
purpose in life might have less psychological grit compared with students who 
perceive meaning in life. This finding is consistent with previous researchers who 
posited that search for meaning in life has a negative relationship with Latina/o 
college students’ goal-specific hope (Vela, Lerma, et al., 2014). 
The importance of family was also used as part of a conceptual framework 
to understand Latina/o students’ psychological grit. In the current study, familismo 
did not contribute to the overall prediction of psychological grit among Latina/o 
college students. Although researchers found family support contributed to 
Latina/o students’ life satisfaction and academic resilience (Cavazos et al., 2010; 
Edwards & Lopez, 2008) as well as Mexican American adolescents’ positive 
psychological functioning (Pina-Watson et al., 2013), this is one of the first 
investigations that did not find a relationship between family and psychological 
grit. Given the central role that family plays among Latina/o students and 
adolescents, it was surprising that family did not predict students’ psychological 
grit. 
 
Work ethic and grit: An examination of empirical redundancy 
John P. Meriac, John S. Slifka, Lauren R. LaBat 
 
Grit is similar to work ethic as it is an individual difference variable related 
to one's effort toward task accomplishment. However, grit focuses more 
specifically on committing to consistently and loyally pursuing long-term goals 
over years, despite challenges along the way (Duckworth et al., 2007). 
Given that work ethic and grit are both related to conscientiousness, one 
could reasonably expect that they should be positively related. However, grit has 
been specifically framed as a component of conscientiousness, albeit distinct 
from other common facets (Duckworth & Eskreis-Winkler, 2013). In contrast, work 
ethic is broader in that it appeals to more work-related activities and should 
theoretically have less shared variance with conscientiousness than grit. 
Work ethic has been demonstrated as a robust predictor of job satisfaction 
(Meriac et al., 2013; Miller et al., 2002). Given that work ethic reflects the intrinsic 
value of work in one's life, individuals with higher levels of work ethic may satisfy 
needs through work itself. Only recently have researchers begun to examine grit 
as a predictor of work attitudes. In a student sample, grit was positively related to 
life satisfaction (Singh & Jha, 2008). However, in a study of physicians, grit was 
not associated with job satisfaction (Reed, Schmitz, Baker, Nukui, & Epperly, 
2012). Collectively, work ethic has consistently been shown to be positively 
related to job satisfaction, while there has been less conclusive evidence for grit's 
effect on job satisfaction. 
Saks, Mudrack, and Ashforth (1996) found that individuals with higher levels 
of work ethic were more likely to remain employed with their organizations. 
Similarly, grit has been demonstrated as related to turnover in a variety of 
settings, including military academy cadets (Duckworth et al., 2007) and sales 
representatives (EskreisWinkler, Shulman, Beal, & Duckworth, 2014). Likewise, 
work ethic has been demonstrated as an effective predictor of turnover intentions, 
such that individuals with higher levels of work ethic are less likely to turnover 
(Meriac et al., 2013). 
Some support was found for hypothesized dimension-level relationships, 
such that the work ethic dimension hard work was related to the grit dimension 
perseverance of effort. However, the work ethic dimension delay of gratification 
and the grit dimension consistency of interests were not significantly related. 
Further, work ethic and grit were related to external variables (i.e., 
conscientiousness) as expected. 
Compared with grit, work ethic may be more strongly associated with the 
intrinsic rewards a person derives from their work and find it more 
gratifying/meaningful. Both grit and work ethic were negatively related to stress, 
but grit explained incremental variance in stress beyond work ethic. Grittier 
individuals might have different coping strategies when encountering stressors in 
their work lives. 
 
Can Grit Be Nurtured in Undergraduate Nursing Students? 
Ellen M. McCabe, MSN, RN 
In conclusion, one does not instantly develop grit, nor is one able to solve 
all the issues and immediately be an “exemplar nurse” envisioned in the earlier 
days of nursing school. Nevertheless, spending time reading, in conversations, 
and reflecting about 146 NASN School Nurse | May 2016 nurses who exemplify 
grit is a beginning point in the development of this trait. 
 
 
 
 
Grit and burnout in UK doctors: a cross-sectional study across 
specialties and stages of training 
Laura Halliday, Abigail Walker, Stella Vig, John Hines, John Brecknell 
 
Overall, there was weak negative correlation between grit and burnout as 
shown in figure 1 (r=−0.312, p=0.0001), demonstrating that high grit scores were 
associated (although weakly) with low burnout scores. This negative correlation 
was also seen when separately analysing grit and disengagement (r=−0.226, 
p=0.001) and grit and exhaustion scores (r=−0.381, p=0.0001), demonstrating 
that high grit scores were associated with both low disengagement and 
exhaustion scores. 
This study has shown first that high levels of grit are associated with lower 
levels of burnout in UK doctors; second that consultants have higher levels of grit 
than trainees; and third that there are comparatively high levels of burnout in 
qualified GPs. 
Previous studies have found that emotional exhaustionhas the strongest 
association with stressors among doctors.19 20 Emotional exhaustion is an early 
symptom of burnout, which leads to depersonalisation and higher burnout 
scores.21 Improving grit may have a role in targeting and reducing the early 
stages of burnout and preventing the serious complications that severe burnout 
has both on the doctor themselves and the care they provide. 
 
Persevering with Positivity and Purpose: An Examination of Purpose 
Commitment and Positive Affect as Predictors of Grit 
Patrick L. Hill, Anthony L. Burrow, Kendall Cotton Bronk 
 
Having a purpose in life entails a commitment to an ultimate life goal that 
serves to organize and plan the individual’s daily and long-term activities 
(McKnight and Kashdan 2009), and individuals oriented toward a set of life goals 
tend to demonstrate consistency (i.e., continued commitment) to their choices 
over several years (Hill et al. 2010). 
Purpose development is in flux during the adolescent and emerging adult 
years (Hill et al. 2013), suggesting that its role on personality traits (like grit) might 
be strongest during this period. 
First, gritty individuals have a more positive personality profile, including 
lower levels of neuroticism and higher levels of extraversion (Duckworth and 
Quinn 2009), traits known to be related to emotional well-being (see Steel et al. 
2008). Second, individuals may exhibit greater interest in their long-term goals if 
they are building this passion from an existing base of positivity and optimism. 
Grit seemingly is one such candidate insofar that it promotes success in 
academic and work domains, and as such deepening or developing this 
characteristic may lead to greater satisfaction and well-being, which in turn serves 
as feedback for the need to be gritty in the future. 
Finally, these results provide valuable contributions to research on grit, 
above and beyond demonstrating two potential concurrent and prospective 
correlates. First, Study 1 provided further evidence that the positives associated 
with grit are not merely reducible to its conceptual and empirical links with the Big 
Five (see also Duckworth et al. 2007). In line with the developmental focus of the 
current research, though, it remains a question for future research to examine 
how grit fluctuates in tandem with the Big Five, particularly with respect to whether 
it demonstrates unique trajectories with conscientiousness and its facets. 
Second, the current study provides one of the first investigations into whether and 
how grit fluctuates over time, demonstrating that even over the course of a 
semester, students report reliable changes on the trait. That said, we also provide 
some initial evidence that the dispositional trait, as one would expect, retains high 
rank-order consistency over the span of a few months. Third, it provides some 
insights into how educators can help their students increase on the disposition, 
indicating that it might prove more valuable to help them commit to life goals than 
merely bolstering their well-being. 
 
Perseverance Counts but Consistency Does Not! Validating the Short 
Grit Scale in a Collectivist Setting 
Jesus Alfonso D. Datu & Jana Patricia M. Valdez & Ronnel B. King 
The ability to tolerate contradictions and the lower preference for cognitive 
consistency, which are conceptually related to consistency of interest, may make 
the consistency of interest dimension of grit less important in collectivist contexts. 
On the other hand, there is no strong reason to suspect that the perseverance of 
effort dimension be equally important in a collectivist setting as it is in 
individualistic societies. Numerous studies have shown that perseverance is a 
strongly endorsed cultural value in both individualistic (e.g., Duckworth et al. 
2007, 2009) and collectivistic cultural contexts (Zhou 2014). 
We found that consistency of interests did not load on the second-order grit 
factor. This suggests that in the Philippine context, grit is better conceptualized 
as comprised of two distinct components. We found that the number of factors 
and pattern of their structure was similar for the university and high school sample 
as shown in the configural invariance model. 
In general, we found that the perseverance dimension of grit was positively 
associated with adaptive well-being and academic outcomes. However, the 
consistency of interest dimension seemed to be a less important predictor of 
these outcomes. 
The positive impact of perseverance on academic engagement implies that 
students who are determined and passionate towards fulfilling long-term goals 
are inclined to actively participate in classroom activities and to feel good about 
taking part in academic endeavors. Likewise, the advantageous consequence of 
perseverance on subjective well-being suggests that gritty students are likely to 
achieve greater satisfaction in life and emotional well-being. 
Collectivists live in a culture where relationship harmony is highly valued 
(Markus and Kitayama 1991). It is likely that their interests would vary across time 
depending on the wants of significant others since fulfilling others’ expectation is 
important in such contexts. For instance, a gritty high school student could 
fervently work towards completing diploma even if he is not always interested 
about pursuing it because his family is expecting him to graduate on time. Hence, 
in cultures that reward a “context-sensitive self”, it is possible that those who are 
gritty will not realize the advantages of espousing consistent interests as the need 
to adjust to social demands is more salient. 
The Western conceptualization of grit as comprised of consistency of 
interests and perseverance of effort may not be valid in collectivist contexts where 
consistency is not that highly valued. In other words, our findings point to the 
distinct way that grit operates in an interdependent setting. Moreover, we found 
that perseverance was a more salient predictor of key psychological outcomes 
compared to consistency. These results point to the advantages of implementing 
perseverance-oriented educational programs in optimizing student success. This 
also contradicted Western research which showed that both perseverance and 
consistency were equally important in predicting psychological outcomes. 
 
Perspiration and inspiration: Grit and innovativeness as antecedents 
of entrepreneurial success 
Todd Mooradian, Kurt Matzler, Borislav Uzelac, Florian Bauer 
Grit has also been linked to higher earnings (Díaz, Arias, & Tudela, 2012) 
and has been shown to predispose individuals away from deleterious life 
outcomes including internet addiction, excessive consumer spending, and 
gambling (Maddi et al., 2013). 
Grit specifically offers significant marginal predictive power beyond that of 
Conscientiousness. For example, Díaz et al. (2012) showed that Grit but not 
Conscientiousness had significant predictive power with regard to earnings after 
schooling. 
We expect that the two dimensions of Grit – Perseverance of Effort (or 
‘‘Tenacity”) and Consistency of Interests (or ‘‘Passion”) can be related to 
innovation success and firm performance particularly because individuals react 
differently to adversities and success in entrepreneurial contexts (Markman, 
Baron, & Balkin, 2005; Stoltz, 1997). Perseverance—including attributes like hard 
work, diligence, finishing whatever one begins—has been related to stress 
endurance when coping with setbacks and accomplishments that individuals 
eventually realize (Bandura, 1997). It determines the level of effort that individuals 
put forth while pursuing their endeavors, it represents their endurance and 
resilience when facing setbacks and repeated failures (Eisenberger & Leonard, 
1980). 
Consistency of interest could, however, have an indirect effect on 
organizationalperformance via innovation success as innovation is a key source 
of competitive advantage and sustained success (Rosenbusch, Brinckmann, & 
Bausch, 2011). Particularly in the case of small and medium-sized enterprises it 
has been argued that they benefit more from innovation than their larger 
counterparts, as they are more agile and have a less hierarchical and faster 
decision-making structure (Nooteboom, 1994; Vossen, 1998). 
Hypothesis 1 suggests that perseverance of effort is positively related to 
innovation success. This hypothesis can be confirmed as the path coefficient is 
significant and strongly positive with a value of 0.291⁄⁄2 and an f 2 value of 0.094, 
which indicates a moderate effect size. The path from perseverance of effort to 
performance is not significant; hence, hypothesis 2 is rejected. The path 
coefficient form ‘‘consistency of interests” on ‘‘innovation” is significant and 
negative and, according to literature (Chin, 1998; Henseler et al., 2009), quite 
strong as the path coefficient is 0.143⁄ and the effect size f 2 is 0.022. This result 
indicates a low to medium negative effect from consistency of interests on 
innovation. Hence, hypothesis 3 is confirmed. Also hypothesis 4 finds support. 
The path coefficient is significant at a 10 percent level (ß = 0.111; f 2 = 0.016) 
and positive, indicating that increased consistency of interests positively affects 
performance. The strongest empirical support is found for the relationship from 
innovation to performance, supporting hypothesis 5. The high path coefficient 
value of 0.517*** and the f 2 value of 0.322 indicates a strong effect from 
‘‘innovation” on ‘‘performance”. 
It has been asserted that ‘‘entrepreneurship is fundamentally personal” 
(Baum, Frese, Baron, & Katz, 2007, p. 1). The current research tests the 
relationship between a fairly recently explicated personality trait—trait Grit with 
its two components ‘‘Consistency of interest” and ‘‘Perseverance of efforts”—and 
innovation and entrepreneurial success. 
With this study we contribute to a better understanding of the role of 
personality traits for entrepreneurial success by (a) showing that perseverance of 
effort is an important predictor of innovation success as it indirectly—through 
innovation success—influences performance, and that (b) consistency of interest 
negatively influences innovation success but positively affects performance. The 
finding that the two components of the construct can have different effects is in 
itself an important contribution to the literature on Grit—since previous studies, 
though acknowledging that the two components are conceptually different, have 
not treated them so empirically. 
This study also has some important implications for entrepreneurship 
research. First, it has been shown that Grit influences innovation and 
performance in an entrepreneurial context. The construct Grit has been 
introduced very recently (Duckworth et al., 2007) and future studies should aim 
at studying its effect on other important constructs in entrepreneurship literature 
such as orientations (for example entrepreneurial orientation (Lumpkin & Dess, 
1996), long-term orientation (Brigham, Lumpkin, Payne, & Zachary, 2014), 
commitment (for example organizational commitment, the influence on 
employee’s commitment through contagion effects (Breugst, Domurath, Patzelt, 
& Klaukien, 2012), or other outcome variables (for example opportunity 
identification, venture formation, venture growth). Especially in the context of 
innovation it could be interesting to see whether the two Grit components 
influence exploration and exploitation (or ambidexterity) success (He & Wong, 
2004; March, 1991) in different ways. 
 
Knowing oneself and long-term goal pursuit: Relations among self-
concept clarity, conscientiousness, and grit 
Robert E. Fite, Meghan I.H. Lindeman, Arielle P. Rogers, Elora Voyles, 
Amanda M. Durik 
 
We found that the positive relationship between conscientiousness and 
consistency of interest becomes stronger as SCC increases. This pattern 
suggests that consistency of interest may capture a component of self-
knowledge, in addition to conscientiousness. No such interaction emerged for the 
perseverance of effort component of grit. Instead, conscientiousness alone 
predicted the perseverance of effort component of grit. 
. It seems that the consistency of interest component of grit is predicted by 
SCC and conscientiousness together. It is possible that individuals who have a 
clear vision of who they are set goals that better align with their self-concept and, 
therefore, are in a better position to direct their motivation towards meaningful 
ends. Specifically, having high levels of conscientiousness might allow an 
individual to consistently take steps towards achieving their goals, but even more 
so if the goals are clear and well-defined within the self-concept. 
Our results suggest that conscientiousness and SCC together might 
cultivate the consistency of interest component of grit. 
 
True Grit and Genetics: Predicting Academic Achievement From 
Personality 
Kaili Rimfeld, Yulia Kovas, Philip S. Dale, Robert Plomin 
Twin analyses, conducted for the first time in the present study, showed that 
Grit (perseverance of effort and consistency of interest), just as other personality 
factors (Turkheimer, Pettersson, & Horn, 2013), is moderately heritable, with 
genetic factors explain ing about a third of the variance. The majority of the 
variance in all personality factors was explained by nonshared environmental 
factors, which are the factors that do not contribute to similarities between twin 
pairs growing up in the same family and attending the same schools. This means 
that current differences between families and schools explain little variance in the 
development of Grit. 
The core finding is that Grit, especially the perseverance of effort subscale, 
is substantially correlated with Conscientiousness, both phenotypically (0.53) and 
genetically (0.86). The extent to which an individual can have different scores on 
these two traits stems largely from nonshared environment; this may result from 
some measure-specific measurement error or aspects of the environment that 
affect only one trait. The present findings show that Grit adds little to the 
prediction of academic achievement when other personality factors are 
controlled. This does not exclude the possibility that other cognitive or 
noncognitive predictors are important correlates of academic success. For 
example, self-efficacy has consistently been shown to be associated with school 
achievement (Chamorro-Premuzic, Harlaar, Greven, & Plomin, 2010; Greven, 
Harlaar, Kovas, ChamorroPremuzic, & Plomin, 2009; Luciano et al., 2006; 
Richardson et al., 2012; Zimmerman, Bandura, & Martinez-Pons, 1992). 
Grit could be one of these narrower facets, but the effect size of Grit as 
measured by the Grit-S in the present study was very small, especially when the 
association among the Big Five was accounted for. Thus, the association 
between achievement and personality is largely explained by the Big Five and 
Grit adds little to this relationship. 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
The Measurement of Engagement And Burnout: A Two Sample 
Confirmatory Factor Analytic Approach 
Wilmar B. Schaufeli, Marisa Salanova, Vicente Gonzalez-Romá and 
Arnold B. Bakker 
 
We take a different perspective by considering burnout and engagement to 
be opposite concepts that should be measured independently with different 
instruments. Based on a theoretical analysis (Schaufeli and Bakker, 2001), two 
underlying dimensions have been identified of work-related well-being: (1) 
activation, ranging from exhaustion to vigor, and (2) identification, ranging from 
cynicism to dedication. Burnout is characterized by a combination of exhaustion 
(low activation)and cynicism (low identification), whereas engagement is 
characterized by vigor (high activation) and dedication (high identification). 
Furthermore, burnout includes reduced professional efficacy, and engagement 
includes absorption. In contrast to both the other elements of burnout and 
engagement that are direct opposites (exhaustion vs. vigor and cynicism vs. 
dedication), reduced efficacy and absorption are not each others direct opposites, 
rather they are conceptually distinct aspects that are not the end points of some 
underlying continuum. 
Hence, engagement is defined as a positive, fulfilling, work-related state of 
mind that is characterized by vigor, dedication, and absorption. Rather than a 
momentary and specific state, engagement refers to a more persistent and 
pervasive affective cognitive state that is not focused on any particular object, 
event, individual, or behavior. Vigor is characterized by high levels of energy and 
mental resilience while working, the willingness to invest effort in one’s work, and 
persistence even in the face of difficulties. Dedication is characterized by a sense 
of significance, enthusiasm, inspiration, pride, and challenge. The final dimension 
of engagement, absorption, is characterized by being fully concentrated and 
deeply engrossed in one’s work, whereby time passes quickly and one has 
difficulties with detaching oneself from work. Being fully absorbed in one’s work 
comes close to what has been called ‘flow’, a state of optimal experience that is 
characterized by focused attention, clear mind, mind and body unison, effortless 
concentration, complete control, loss of self-consciousness, distortion of time, 
and intrinsic enjoyment (Csikszentmihalyi, 1990). 
 
Job demands, job resources, and their relationship with burnout and 
engagement: a multi-sample study 
Wilmar B. Schaufeli and Arnold B. Bakker 
In either case, be it through the satisfaction of basic needs or through the 
achievement of work goals, the outcome is positive and engagement—a fulfilling, 
positive work-related state of mind—is likely to occur. In its turn, it is plausible to 
assume that engaged workers have a low tendency to leave the organization. 
After all, the organization provides them with valued job resources that enhance 
learning, growth, and development (Houkes, Janssen, De Jonge, & Nijhuis, 
2001). In other words, engagement is expected to mediate the relationship 
between job resources and (low) intention to leave. 
On a more general level, our study illustrates that negative psychological 
states (i.e., burnout) and positive psychological states (i.e., engagement) play 
similar roles in quite different processes. The former plays a mediating role in an 
effort-based energetic process that is driven by high job demands and that 
eventually might lead to health problems, whereas the latter plays a mediating 
role in a motivational process that is driven by available resources and that might 
lead to organizational attachment (i.e., a low turnover tendency). 
 
Believe, and You Will Achieve: Changes over Time in Self-Efficacy, 
Engagement, and Performance 
Else Ouweneel and Wilmar B. Schaufeli, Pascale M. Le Blanc 
 
Students’ capabilities greatly determine their academic motivation and 
success; however, the extent to which they believe in their capabilities is 
important as well. The most influential concept to assess this capability belief is 
self-efficacy, which is referred to as the “belief in one’s capabilities to organise 
and execute the course of action required to produce given attainments” 
(Bandura, 1997, p. 3). 
In psychology and education, in particular, self-efficacy has proven to be a 
more consistent predictor of behavioral outcomes than any other motivational 
construct (Graham & Weiner, 1996). 
Engagement is described as a positive and inspiring state of mind that is 
characterised by vigor, dedication, and absorption (Schaufeli & Bakker, 2004). 
. Just like employees, students are involved in structured, coercive activities 
(e.g. attending class) that are directed toward a specific goal (e.g. passing 
exams). So, analogously to work engagement, study engagement is 
characterised by feeling vigorous, being dedicated to one’s studies, and being 
absorbed in study-related tasks (Schaufeli et al., 2002a). Students are vigorous 
when they experience high levels of energy and mental resilience, willingness to 
invest effort, and persistence in the face of difficulties. Dedicated students feel a 
sense of significance, enthusiasm, inspiration, pride, and challenge with regard 
to their studies. Finally, students are absorbed when they are fully focused on 
their study tasks and feel that time is flying (Bresó, Schaufeli, & Salanova, 2011). 
Having meaningful goals and plans to pursue those goals is likely to result 
in higher levels of engagement in study tasks (Howell, 2009; MacLeod, Coates, 
& Hetherton, 2008; Sansone & Thoman, 2006). 
Efficacious students tend to try other options when they do not achieve their 
goals at first, they expend high levels of effort in doing so, and deal more 
effectively with problematic situations by persevering and remaining confident 
that they will find solutions and be successful in the end. Therefore, generally, 
they perform well (Bandura, 1997). 
The results show that changes in self-efficacy scores align with similar 
changes in study engagement, but not with changes in study performance. We 
conclude that self-efficacy in an academic setting seems to relate to subjective 
measures like study engagement, but not to objective measures like GPA. 
The results of the experiment in Study 2 showed that, indeed, manipulated 
changes in levels of self-efficacy have a significant influence on changes in 
scores on task engagement and task performance. Students who received 
positive performance feedback with the aim of boosting their self-efficacy also 
showed an increase in actual task performance. In a similar vein, task 
performance decreased when students received negative feedback and it 
remained stable in the control condition. 
Bandura (1997) stated that the more specific the assessment of self-
efficacy, the more likely it is to be related to outcomes such as motivation and 
performance. 
Hence, Stone (1994) and Whyte, Saks, and Hook (1997) found that high 
levels of self-efficacy could lead to overconfidence in one’s abilities. More 
recently, studies have shown that high levels of self-efficacy create relaxation and 
reduce future performance (e.g. Vancouver & Kendall, 2006). In line with this, 
Vancouver, Thomson, and Williams (2001) found that the more self-efficacy 
students had with regard to exams, the worse their performance was in 
examinations at a later time point. 
 
Academic Engagement: An Overview of Its Definitions, Dimensions, 
and Major Conceptualisations 
Oqab Alrashidi, Huy P. Phan & Bing H. Ngu 
 
Engagement, according to Schaufeli et al. (2002), is defined as a fulfilling 
and positive study-related state of mind that is characterised by three dimensions: 
absorption, vigor, and dedication (Schaufeli et al., 2002). Initially, the notion of 
engagement was conceptualised as work-related engagement, but recently this 
concept has been expanded to include the notion of study engagement 
(Ouweneel, Le Blanc, & Schaufeli, 2014; Schaufeli et al., 2002; Upadyaya & 
Salmela-Aro, 2013). Schaufeli and his colleagues (e.g., Breso et al., 2011; 
Ouweneel, Le Blanc, & Schaufeli, 2011; Ouweneel, Schaufeli, & Le Blanc, 2013) 
have argued that, from a psychological point of view, a student’s tasks and 
activities can be considered ‘work’. Like an employee, the student is involved in 
coercive, structured tasks and activities (e.g., completing assignments and 
projects, attending class) that are targeted toward a particular aim (e.g., passing 
examinations, getting job) (Ouwneelet al., 2013; Ouwneel et al., 2011). 
Therefore, educational places are settings in which students work, so it is 
reasonable that the concept of engagement can be extended to the study context 
(Ouwneel et al., 2013; Ouwneel et al., 2011; Salmela-Aro & Upadaya, 2012). 
Thus, analogously to work engagement, study engagement is characterised by 
students’ feelings of vigor, their dedication to their studies, and their absorption 
in their academic-related tasks and activities (Schaufeli et al., 2002; Ouwneel et 
al., 2013; Ouwneel et al., 2011). The following paragraph discusses in more detail 
the three dimensions of engagement: vigor, dedication, and absorption. 
The first dimension, vigor, refers to students’ sense of high levels of mental 
resilience and energy while studying, their willingness to exert and invest effort 
into their academic-related activities, their persistence in the face of obstacles, 
and their positive approach to learning (Ouweneel et al., 2014; Ouweneel et al., 
2013; Salmela-Aro & Upadyaya, 2014; Upadyaya & Salmela-Aro, 2013). The 
second dimension, dedication, is characterised by students’ sense of 
enthusiasm, inspiration, significance, challenge, and pride for engaging in their 
studies, as well as their perception of school-related activities as meaningful 
(Ouweneel et al., 2013; Ouweneel et al., 2014; Salmela-Aro & Upadyaya, 2014; 
Upadyaya & Salmela-Aro, 2013). Finally, absorption is defined as students’ 
sense of being deeply engrossed and fully concentrated in their studies (e.g., time 
passes quickly when studying) (Ouweneel et al., 2013; Ouweneel et al., 2014; 
Salmela-Aro & Upadyaya, 2014; Upadyaya & Salmela-Aro, 2013). The three 
aforementioned dimensions of engagement are separate constructs, but also 
correlate highly with each other (Schaufeli et al., 2002; Tuominen-Soini & 
Salmela-Aro, 2014; Upadyaya & Salmela-Aro, 2013). 
From a correlational perspective, for example, Phan and Ngu (2014b) 
conducted a study among 294 university students, and found that vigor, 
dedication, and absorption (combined as a unitary construct) significantly 
predicted students’ performance. Casuso-Holgado et al.’s (2013) study similarly 
showed, among 304 university students, that vigor, dedication, and absorption 
were strongly associated with students’ GPA. Salanova, Schaufeli, Martinez, and 
Breso (2010) included 527 university students in a study that found that vigor and 
dedication as a unitary construct significantly predicted students’ (GPA). 
Longitudinal studies (e.g., Breso et al., 2011) have also provided evidence for the 
positive impact of vigor, dedication, and absorption on students’ performance 
over time. For example, Phan and Ngu’s (2014a) multi-wave study among 326 
high school students found that Time 3 absorption, vigor, and dedication 
positively impacted students’ course marks at Time 5. Phan’s (2014c) four-wave 
study with 249 high school students similarly revealed that absorption at Time 2 
exerted a positive impact on achievement at Time 4. Additionally, in a two-wave 
study involving 1530 upper-secondary and vocational students, Salmela-Aro and 
Upadaya (2012) noticed that students’ GPA was positively associated with vigor, 
dedication, and absorption at both time points. In a similar vein, Breso et al.’s 
(2011) quasi-experimental longitudinal study with 71 university students has 
shown that increases in vigor and dedication as a unitary construct were aligned 
with similar increases in students’ performance. 
 
Student engagement, context, and adjustment: Addressing 
definitional, measurement, and methodological issues 
Jennifer A. Fredricks, Michael Filsecker, Michael A. Lawson 
First, engagement is a key contributor of learning and academic success. A 
growing body of research has linked student engagement to higher grades, 
achievement test scores, and school completion rates (Fredricks, Blumenfeld, & 
Paris, 2004; Wang & Holcombe, 2010; Wang & Fredricks, 2014). Student 
engagement also has protective benefits in terms of lower rates of delinquency, 
substance use, and depression (Wang & Fredricks, 2014; Li & Lerner, 2011). 
Second, engagement has appeal because it is a “meta-construct” that includes 
observable behaviors, internal cognitions, and emotions (Fredricks et al., 2004). 
For example, research shows that engagement is higher in classrooms 
where students have developed strong relationships with their teachers and 
peers; where teachers support students' autonomy; where teachers hold high 
expectations and give consistent and clear feedback; and where tasks are 
variable, challenging, interesting, and meaningful (Fredricks, 2011). Additionally, 
research has shown how schoollevel factors like size of school, disciplinary 
practices, opportunities for participation in extracurricular activities, and school 
culture influence student engagement (Fredricks et al., 2004; Lawson & Lawson, 
2013). 
 
What does this mean in practice in the context of higher education 
institutions? 
Carol Robinson 
School-based research has shown that there are benefits to staff, to 
students and to the wider school environment brought about by listening to the 
perspectives of their student body (Rudduck and Flutter, 2004; Flutter and 
Rudduck, 2004). Where schools have developed student engagement practices, 
this has been found to contribute towards the development of a positive learning 
culture (Flutter and Rudduck, 2004). Research relating to the impact of 
implementing student voice and student engagement practices in schools has 
shown that where teachers listen to students’ perspectives on their learning 
experiences, this enhances teachers’ understanding of how students learn most 
effectively and has led them to reflect on, and make changes to, aspects of their 
own teaching practice (Flutter and Rudduck, 2004). Similarly, Bragg and Fielding 
(2005) found teachers considered students were able to offer them valuable 
feedback in relation to students’ learning, and this supported teachers in refining 
and developing their practice. Furthermore, where students are actively involved 
in contributing to discussions and decisions about teaching and learning, this 
leads to them developing a deeper understanding of the learning processes and 
promotes their development of higher order thinking skills in (Flutter and 
Rudduck, 2004). 
However, an alternative view of student engagement is presented by the 
HEA (Trowler, 2010) who state: Student engagement is concerned with the 
interaction between the time, effort and other relevant resources invested by both 
students and their institutions intended to optimise the student experience and 
enhance the learning outcomes and development of students and the 
performance, and reputation of the institution. 
The presence of institutional and social power relations can, therefore, lead 
to the silencing of some students’ voices. This resonates with Freire’s notion of a 
“culture of silence” (1971) where some students feel unable, or lacking in power, 
to act as change agents, and feel compelled to keep their thoughts to themselves 
because they perceive themselves as the less powerful within student-tutor and 
student-student relationships. 
 
On Being Grateful and Kind: Results of Two Randomized Controlled 
Trials on Study-Related Emotions and Academic Engagement 
Else Ouweneel, Pascale M. Le Blanc, Wilmar B. Schaufeli 
We took on two interventions, namely the promotion of thoughts of gratitude 
and acts of kindness and adapted these for use in an academic context. Thoughts 
of gratitude (Study 1) had only a marginally positive effect on positive emotions 
compared to the control condition, and no effect on academic engagement or 
negative emotions. Acts of kindness (Study 2) showed stronger effects. Not only 
the interaction effects on positive emotions were quite strong compared to thefirst intervention, but we found a significant effect on academic engagement 
compared to the control condition directly after the intervention week (T1–week 
1) as well. Last, we found no significant effects of acts of kindness on negative 
emotions. 
Based on our post-hoc analyses we were able to establish that the effects 
of the acts of kindness intervention on positive emotions and academic 
engagement were much stronger than the effects of thoughts of gratitude. 
Study 2 showed that acts of kindness not only increased the levels of 
positive emotions but caused a (shortterm) positive effect on academic 
engagement as well. We assume that by performing acts of kindness, participants 
had positive experiences and felt positive emotions which helped them to 
envision goals and challenges and as such to be more engaged in their studies 
(Pekrun et al., 2002b). 
 
Analyzing profiles, predictors, and consequences of student 
engagement dispositions 
Michael A. Lawson, Katherine E. Masyn 
 
To date, most educational research has conceptualized student 
engagement as a “meta-construct” consisting of behavioral, emotional, and 
cognitive dimensions (see Appleton, Christenson, & Furlong, 2008; Finn & 
Zimmer, 2012; Reeve, 2012 for exceptions and additions). In this frame, 
behavioral engagement refers to student participation, positive classroom 
conduct, and compliance with school rules (Finn & Zimmer, 2012; Griffiths, Lilles, 
Furlong, & Sidhwa, 2012; Rumberger & Rotermund, 2012). Emotional 
engagement refers to student feelings of identification and belonging to school, 
as well as their affective attachments to academic activities, such as the level of 
interest, enjoyment, happiness, boredom, or anxiety that they experience while 
conducting academic work (Appleton et al., 2008; Pekrun & Linnenbrink-Garcia, 
2012; Skinner, Furrer, Marchand, & Kindermann, 2008). Cognitive engagement 
refers to students' psychological investments in learning (Fredricks et al., 2004), 
the cognitive effort they exert while completing academic tasks (Finn & Zimmer, 
2012) as well as the extent to which they persist when academic work becomes 
difficult (Corno, 1993). 
The first assumption is that engagement is malleable (i.e., it is amenable to 
improvement via pedagogy and other interventions). The second is that 
engagement and motivation should be treated as conceptually and analytically 
distinct constructs (Eccles & Wang, 2012). The third is that the quality of 
engagement depends on student motivations to act and learn (Skinner & Pitzer, 
2012). And the fourth is that motivation and engagement are often context 
dependent. Overall, this line of research indicates that when students' 
motivational needs are met by the surrounding environment, they can and will 
engage constructively in classroom activities (Reeve, 2012). When they are not, 
students may emotionally, cognitively, and behaviorally withdraw from school 
(Skinner et al., 2008). 
Beyond describing the heterogeneity of students' engagement dispositions, 
our analyses helped describe, explain, and predict their relation to students' 
educational attainment outcomes. Specifically, our results affirmed previous 
studies that linked student disaffection to early high school leaving and drop-out 
(e.g., Rumberger & Rotermund, 2012). However, they also showed that students' 
engagement dispositions did not determine students' long-term educational 
outcome trajectories. In fact, not only did a large proportion of ambivalent and 
disaffected students graduate from high school on time, a majority of these 
students matriculated to a postsecondary institution or trade school within 4 years 
of high school graduation. This was a novel finding. 
Although our disposition profiles were not determinants of students' long-
term educational outcomes, they appeared useful in predicting students' later 
enrollment in a 4-year college or university. Here, our outcome models showed 
that students whose engagement dispositions were characterized by strong 
future beliefs, academic competencies, and social–academic investments were 
the most likely to matriculate to a 4-year postsecondary institution. In contrast, 
less than a third of students belonging to the Ambivalence and Disidentification 
profiles enjoyed such benefits. 
When combined, these results showcased the diverse social, psychological, 
emotional, and cognitive competencies which accompanied students' early high 
school experiences, as well as the multiple educational outcome trajectories 
which followed their engagement dispositions. In so doing, they highlighted the 
importance of attending to the engagement-related strengths, needs, and 
challenges exhibited by today's high school student population. 
What future for student engagement in neo-liberal times? 
Nick Zepke 
However, Lawson and Lawson’s (2013) view of a socio-ecological 
perspective on student engagement is persuasive. They consider that student 
engagement serves as conceptual glue that joins student learning and its 
ecological influences such as peers, families and communities to social systems 
such as higher education institutions. 
Institutions that engage students successfully are thought to contribute to 
student success more generally, such as achieving high levels of successful 
course completions and attaining a passport to employment with a positive 
attitude to lifelong learning (Yorke 2006). 
 
Normatização da versão Brasileira da Escala Utrecht de Engajamento 
no Trabalho 
Emília dos Santos Magnan, Ana Claudia Souza Vazquez, Juliana 
Cerentini Pacico, Claudio Simon Hutz 
Engajamento no trabalho é definido como um estado mental, disposicional 
e positivo de intenso prazer e conexão profunda com a ação laboral, sendo um 
indicador de saúde do trabalhador (Schaufeli, 2014). O que significa que a 
pessoa engajada se vincula à sua atividade laboral com elevados sentimentos 
de inspiração, bem-estar e prazer autêntico pelo que realiza profissionalmente. 
É um estado sempre positivo e intenso, mais fortemente relacionado ao modo 
como as pessoas engajadas realizam seu trabalho do que às metas 
empresariais, tarefas laborais ou aos tipos de organização em que estão 
inseridas. 
O elemento central da análise está no equilíbrio dinâmico entre recursos e 
demandas de trabalho, cujo funcionamento ótimo e saudável é caracterizado 
pelo engajamento (Bakker & Demerouti, 2007). Nesse modelo, associar 
demandas laborais com recursos de trabalho adequados tem o potencial de 
desafiar as pessoas a se engajarem em ações profissionais efetivas ou de maior 
complexidade, as quais são capazes de lhes conferir um prazer de realizar mais 
intenso (Schaufeli & Bakker, 2004; Schaufeli, Salanova, González-Romá, & 
Bakker, 2002). Por outro lado, quanto maiores forem as demandas e mais pobres 
ou escassos os recursos de trabalho, maior será o risco psicossocial de 
adoecimento ou desgaste laboral. Pessoas engajadas no trabalho, no entanto, 
tendem a centrar sua ação na atividade significativa e prazerosa, 
consequentemente, elas apresentam melhores indicadores de saúde laboral e 
melhores resultados no trabalho (Bakker & Demerouti 2007; Schaufeli, 2014; 
Timms & Brough, 2012). 
 
 
Engajamento escolar: explicação a partir dos valores humanos 
Patrícia Nunes da Fonsêca, Bruna de Jesus Lopes, Rosicleia Moreira 
Palitot, Andrezza Mangueira Estanislau, Ricardo Neves Couto, Gabriel Lins de 
Holanda Coelho 
 
Schaufeli, Taris, e Bakker (2006) ressaltam que as pessoas engajadas se 
esforçam (vigor), se envolvem (dedicação) e se sentem felizes (absorção) com 
o que estão fazendo. Elas também são persistentes em face das dificuldades e 
têm prazer com o seu sucesso, se esforçando e se dedicando com entusiasmo 
às atividades escolares, como forma de alcançarem um objetivo maior que é a 
aquisição de novos conhecimentos (Bakker, Schaufeli,