The Evolution of Grit: Development at a Four-Year Military College

This study assessed whether self-perceived grit is malleable and, if so, how it evolved during the educational journey of students at a four-year military college. By design, the military learning environment tests students' perseverance and determination while teaching lessons in goal commitment and development of purpose, both empirically documented predictors of grit (Hwang and Nam in Multidisciplinary perspectives on grit, Springer, pp 77-92, 2021). Utilizing longitudinal survey data collected over four years, we examined how self-perceived grit changed over time. Results indicate that perceptions of grit dropped during the first year, which is designed to be grueling and challenging and to deconstruct students' perceptions of perseverance and then build them up in the context of the collective. However, as students go through their four-year training, their self-perceptions of grit strengthen and become more robust. These empirical results provide support for the hypothesis that well-designed educational interventions and learning environments may help to foster grit.