The National Teachers College

INTRODUCTION

Family is the basic and the most essential unit of society. It is a community of persons wherein the basis for its presence is through connection or relationship among the family members.

The connection within the family members is very important. Its unity is vital in order for a family to function well. Thus, it must be bound with love from the parents who decided to get married and live through thick and thin.

The purpose of marriage is in response to the calling of God which is to express love.

Marriage can strengthen the family that one wishes to have. The love between the two persons can give life that leads them to become loving parents.

As parents, they are given an important mission to love and nurture their children. It is not an easy mission; instead, it is full of challenges. In the present, families face so many struggles, which are hard for them, especially the parents, to fulfill their mission or their roles in the family, missions that are affected by the changes in our society.

Part of the parents’ mission is to provide the basic needs of their children. These basic needs include the physical needs, intellectual, emotional, social, moral and cultural needs. Without hesitation, families have the authority to make a difference to individuals. It is the power that must be well-maintained and strengthened.

However, how could this happen if the parents from the families are absent? How would the children meet the needs that must be provided by their parents? Meeting the needs of the families would be more challenging if parents are absent.

Get quality help now

Prof. Finch

Verified

Proficient in: Teaching

4.7 (346)

“ This writer never make an mistake for me always deliver long before due date. Am telling you man this writer is absolutely the best. ”

+84 relevant experts are online

Hire writer

The marriages that end seldom happen abruptly and unexpectedly. When marriages fail, the reasons are not all the same. Some of the reasons could be difficulties in communication, financial, sexual, or cruelty. Whatever the reason, the children would be certainly affected by this situation. Some children may feel anger and frustration. Others suffer for the loss of their intact family. Some children feel embarrassed, rejected, abandoned, and lonely. Because of these, the children’s behavior is affected as well as their performance in school.

As studied by Pascarella & Terenzini (2005), the academic performance or grades has been found to be the best variable predictor of students persevering their education. Conventionally, the College and Aptitude Test and high school grade point averages are cognitive measures that have been widely used in predicting academic performance in college (Komarraju, Ramsey, & Rinella, 2013). According to the Learning Theory of Skinner (1945), attainment varies among individual due to some reasons: level of performance and goals of students depend on factors linked to the level of education of parents, family earnings and marital status of parents. Moreover, the theory highlights the significance of motivation, involvement in learning by students and participation of parents in supporting their children’s education.

How would passion and perseverance affect the students in finishing their studies with their current situation? One such non-cognitive construct is grit, which has been defined as persistence and passion toward long-term goals (Von Culin, Tsukayama, & Duckworth, 2014). It must be noted that persistence and grit are the same (Chien, Harbin, Goldhagen, Lippman, & Walker, 2012; United States Department of Education, 2013). In addition, Duckworth, Peterson, Matthews, and Kelly (2007), coined a behavior concept of “grit” that has progressed to include ideas of self-discipline, determination, and perseverance regardless of difficulties.

Further, grit is typically operationalized as a higher-order construct that made up of two distinct factors, “Consistency of Interest” and “Perseverance of Effort” (Duckworth et al., 2007; Duckworth & Quinn, 2009). According to Ericcson, Krampe, & Tesch-Römer (1993), both are assumed to contribute to success: persistence for the process of achieving mastery in a field frequently includes initial failures that the individual must continue through, and consistency since many times of deliberate practice are usually required to achieve mastery.

Furthermore, grit is emphasized to be one of the key concepts of success. Also, it is the reason why most people succeed in reaching their goals beyond the education they achieved. (Duckworth et al., 2007). Empirical research by Perkins-Gough and Duckworth (2013), indicated that a relationship exists between grit and higher academic achievement. Furthermore, earlier research concludes that grit is important for success, and a movement has trailed to develop interventions that foster grit in students of all ages (Duckworth, Grant, Loew, Oettingen, & Gollwitzer, 2011; Shechtman, DeBarger, Dornsife, Rosier, & Yarnall, 2013). As stated by Hoerr (2012) and Olszewski-Kubilius (2012), some mentors knowingly exposing students to failure, in order to help them foster the grit necessary to overcome problems.

However, there are some studies that do not agree that grit behavior predicts academic performance. According to Stewart (2015), on his study indicates that grit and academic performance had no relationship, while a small yet significant relationship was found between self-control and academic performance. And also, other research findings showed that grit as a composite score was not a significant predictor of students’ GPA, the supplementary analysis presented that the perseverance subscale scores were found to be significant in predicting first year academic performance in college (Chang, 2014).

As what the researcher observed being a Values Education teacher, many students with problems in academic or behavioral, are coming from the families with absentee parents. This made the researcher to come up with a study to determine the relationship between academic performance and grit. And if there is, then it might be proven that grit is a factor to be considered when talking about academic performance.

In this study, the researcher aims to find out if students who have high level of grit are performing better or it is the other way around.

SIGNIFICANCE OF THE STUDY

The findings of this study will be beneficial to the following groups of people.

Students. The study will provide new insights and it will help them increase their persistence and retention. Also, they may be able to improve their grit behavior and academic performance.

Absentee Parents. They may be enlightened with this study and may contribute in the improvement of their children’s grit behavior and academic performance.

Future Parents. This may help them realize and understand the importance of having an active role in the total development of their child’s passion and perseverance for long-term goals and to their academic performance. They may also be enlightened and value the importance of having an intact family.

Teachers. They may become conscious and responsive to the need of their students with low grit behavior level. They may realize the importance of their roles which is helping the students cope with their studies, despite the problems surrounding them and apply suitable teaching strategies that would facilitate constructive learning environment. Teachers will also be aware in helping the students learn how to use their knowledge and integrate it into their lives so they will be valuable member of the society.

Guidance Counselors. This is one way of understanding the current needs of students in this generation. Grit can be used to predict which students are more likely to struggle in Senior High School or College, thus identifying at-risk students and to develop programs and to provide support to increase their academic performance to lessen the increase of students’ cases reported.

Administrators. The challenge of raising responsible and academically performing students is familiar to administrators. Each element of this challenge shown by experience and research can be enhanced by thoughtful, sustained and systematic attention to the grit behavior of the students. Thus, the results of this study may provide the benchmarks in developing a school wide learning curriculum for the personal development of all students specifically programs that may help them to achieve higher level of grit behavior.

Researchers. The result of this study may contribute significantly to the knowledge and understanding of Grit and Academic Performance of the students. This study may be able to help other researchers in finding facts and may serve as a significant reference in studies related to this topic.

THEORETICAL FRAMEWORK

Tinto’s Student Retention theory (1973, 1982), is the theoretical framework for this study. Aspects of the theory are pertinent to grit and student engagement. According to Tinto (1973), the dominant factor to the students’ decision to drop out of higher education was the level of goal commitment or persistence. Nevertheless, it was acknowledged that other factors may also play a role in students dropping out, such as financial issues and other external factors that students face (Tinto, 1982). Moreover, Tinto proposed that academic success can be attributed to a student’s previous academic and social experiences, reasons for attending school, goal commitment level, and interaction with the school environment (1993). In addition, rooted in Tinto’s discussion of goal commitment level was the concept of grit, which is defined as persistence and passion for long-term goals (Duckworth & Quinn, 2009).

The updated theory of retention builds upon earlier ideas concerning grit, student engagement and academic performance (Tinto, 2012). Therefore, this framework will help to better understand the variables of grit, and academic performance at the school setting.

RESEARCH PARADIGM

In this research which is shown in figure 1, the profile of the students will be identified particularly their status of having a solo parent or without parents. This will be done by the researcher with the help of the school Guidance Counselors. The paradigm depicts students with solo and without parents as the main respondents of this study.

The flow of arrow suggests that grit behavior can be correlated with their academic performance. Grit refers to one’s passion and perseverance for long-term goals (Duckworth, Peterson, Matthews, & Kelly, 2007). Previous literature has shown that there are two dimensions of grit namely: consistency of interests and perseverance of effort. Whereas consistency of interests pertains to the extent to which one espouses similar set of interests over time, perseverance of effort refers to individual’s tendency to persevere towards hard and challenging goals. Adaptability to situations emerged as a new dimension which appears to characterize grit in Filipino students. Adaptability to situations refers to one’s ability to adapt to changing situations in life. The authors conclude that the three-factor model of grit (with perseverance, consistency, and adaptability as key dimensions) appears to describe how grit operates in a collectivist context because individuals who are embedded in interdependent settings are commonly expected to constantly adjust to evolving circumstances or situations in life (Suh, 2002, 2007).

Some researches consider the personality trait such as grit as a predictor of the student academic performance (Duckworth, et al, 2014). This study will try to know the relationship between the grit and academic performance of the students with solo and without parents. Some statements that describe grittier students include behaviors such as retaining focus on school works, being a hard worker, completing tasks, not being discouraged by influence of others and being diligent. On the contrary, statements that describe less gritty students include behaviors such as having unfocused on school works, being abstracted by others, setting a goal but later choosing a different goal.

If the result of the study shows that there are prevailing less gritty students, then a proposed Guidance Intervention Program will be developed to better understand and develop student persistence. The role of grit behavior will offer a new lens for secondary education when looking at the student academic performance, and ultimately the students’ persistence through education. This will have a valuable implication to students with solo and without parents to complete their secondary education up to their college degree. This will help both the individual and society. People with at least a bachelor’s degree may have lower rates of poverty, smoking, drug related issues and unemployment. The intervention program will also help to increase the retention of the students, so they will graduate with a degree in the future.

Research Paradigm showing the relationship between the Grit Behavior and Academic Performance of the students with solo and without parents.

STATEMENT OF THE PROBLEM

This study will determine the grit level of students with solo and without parents (consistency of interest, perseverance of effort and adaptability to situations). In addition, this research will find out if there is an existing relationship between the grit level and academic performance among students with solo and without parents.

OPERATIONAL DEFINITION OF VARIABLES

The following terms are operationally defined with the aim of facilitating the reader’s understanding, and accurate interpretation of this study.

Absentee Parents. This refers to the father or mother who is working away from home for a week or in a longer period of time. They are those who are either abroad or on provincial assignment hence, not with their children on a daily basis. Absentee parent is one who is completely missing from the child/s life, fully abandoning the child and having nothing to do with him or her.

Academic Performance. This refers to the scholastic record of the students based on the average of their grades of school year 2017-2018.

Adaptability to Situations. Refers to one’s ability to adapt to changing situations in life.

Consistency of Interest. Refers to which one espouses similar set of interests over time.

Grit. This refers to one’s passion and perseverance for long-term goals. There are three dimensions of grit behavior: Consistency of Interest, Perseverance of Effort and Adaptability to Situations.

Guidance Intervention Program. This refers to the activities and services that attend to both preventing and intervening in students’ behaviors. The program aims to increase the retention of the students as well as strengthen their persistence to finish studies until graduation despite of their difficult situations and enhance their abilities to be academically successful.

Perseverance of Effort. Refers to individual’s tendency to persevere towards hard and challenging goals.

Students. As utilized by this research, are Grade 7 to Grade 10 Junior High School students, ages 12- 16 years old.

SCOPE AND DELIMITATION OF THE STUDY

The researcher defined the scope and limits of this study in terms of the area of study, research locale, developmental stage of the participants, sex of the participants, variables examined, tools used to acquire the data, and the timeframe when the study will undertake.

Specifically, this research used the descriptive-correlational type of study focuses on correlating the grit behavior and academic performance of the students with solo parent and without parents. The results of the study will be the basis for a Guidance Intervention Program that can be used by Polo National High School in Valenzuela City.

The research was conducted in Polo National High School at PVES Compound, Palasan, Valenzuela City. The respondents was limited to eight hundred seventeen (817) enrolled Grade 7 to Grade 10 students with solo parent and without parents. The respondents are combination of male and female and from twelve to sixteen (12-16) years old. Purposive sampling was used in selecting the representative sample of the population. The timeframe when the study will be undertaken is on the second semester of academic year 2018-2019. Respondents was selected through the help of the adviser and guidance counselors.

Data on the Grit behavior was limited to the results of the Triarchic Model of Grit Scale Test and the Academic Performance of the students was based on the average of their grades of school year 2017-2018.

REVIEW OF RELATED LITERATURES

This portion presents a review of related literature in both foreign and local settings. References have been taken from books, periodicals and websites. Some available related studies on grit behavior, academic performance and students with absentee parents are herein presented.

Literature

Local and foreign literature on grit behavior, academic performance and absentee parents are available in many books on education and guidance. Those which were found to have direct bearing on this study are herein presented.

According to Datu et al. (2016), the classified model of grit is not applicable to Filipino high school students and undergraduate samples. Qualitative study is used in a collectivist setting (Philippines) to examine how grit works to explore the meaning of grit in Filipino undergraduate students (Datu, Yuen and Chen (2016).

Evidences offered three dimensions emerged from the narratives of the participants such as perseverance of effort, consistency of interests, and adaptability to situations – this recommends the Triarchic Model of Grit. As studied by Datu, Yuen, and Chen (2016), the two factors both verified the original grit theory (Duckworth et al., 2007), while “adaptability to situations” is characterized by individual’s ability to adjust, accepting changes, being flexible, expecting challenges, and representing motivation to overcome any circumstances in students lives (Datu, Yuen, and Chen, 2017).

On Absentee Parents

The basic unit of Philippine society is the family. In Filipino culture, this is made up of the husband, wife, children and the extended family. The family is the first emotional and social support, the first provider of education and the first health care giver.

Usually, the role of economic provider rests on the husband. The responsibility for the care and discipline of children, mainly the duty of the mother, but gradually the father takes his share. The love, care and guidance provided by both parents are essential for the children’s healthy development. Demographic, social and economic changes have brought differences in family composition and structure. There are more challenges that create stressful situations affecting the family’s ability to nurture and care, especially of the children. One emerging variation in family composition and structure is a child or children with solo or totally without parents, may be a widow or widower, or the parent is in abroad or elsewhere.

As cited in http://www.doh.gov.ph, rapid growth and migration, high unemployment rate and order instability, natural disasters and overseas employment have contributed to family disorganization. This is seen in the reported growth of juvenile crimes, street children, substance abuse, prostitution and family violence involving children and women as victims. There is a necessity for a wide range programs to help families discharge their economic and social functions and deal with the pressures imposed on them by the rapid socioeconomic change.

In one of the Kakammpi’s Youth Summer Camp, youth members were asked whether they would prefer that their fathers come home for good. Their answers were surprisingly disheartening and almost made the adults cry. Most said that they wished their fathers to stay working overseas for the reason that they prohibited them to have boyfriends. Their fathers seemed like strangers in the house, and when they stayed here for a long time, that could mean belt-tightening for the family, strong cuts in allowances and, possibly, a stop to their educations. This was a crucial concern over the children of Overseas Filipino Workers (OFWs) suffering from emotional distress brought about by absentee parents. Madrigal (2001) expressed that the solution to settle dysfunctional families is to increase communication between children and their parents who work for long periods out of the country.

According to Bacungan, et al (1996), the family and the school are at the front position in values education with the church stride them. They play different but corresponding roles, located at changing points within the stratification of society. This model of socialization concentrates to three phases: in infancy and childhood, the home is all important; in adolescence, school and peer influence lead; in adulthood, the individual emerges with roles, attitudes and functions appropriate to his position in the social hierarchy. Bacungan also stated that the home should be the lead organization in the progress of personal values; intellectual values in the school, and moral values in the church. Institutions are likely differ in their perception of responsibility. But those in command must indicate which values will be primarily their responsibility and which can and should be left to other. For the roles they take responsibility and hold themselves accountable for, they should implement a quality of accountability that depends on sensible, rational decision-making which involves the ability to look at alternatives, choose the best and take action.

As cited in http://www.peyups.com/print.khtml?sid=3430, parents are responsible for the physical, intellectual and emotional health of their children. Their obligations can be fully fulfilled only by said parents’ being present during their children’s formative years. Every adolescent not raised optimally presents himself/herself as a cost to society in different degrees. The cost may range from wasted public education funds all the way to law enforcement cost resulting in unlawful activities of the truly damaged ones. Responsible parenting begins in making sure of one’s capability to assume full long-term responsibility for raising children hands-on before one can actually have them.

On Grit Behavior

Besides the relationship of grit behavior in the academic context, the grit also appears to be related to psychological well-being among general surgery residents (Salles, Cohen, & Mueller, 2014), life fulfillment and positive result among Filipino and Indian undergraduate students (Datu Valdez, & King, 2015; Singh & Jha, 2008), and orientations to happiness among adults (Von Culin, Tsukayama, & Duckworth, 2014). Also, it was associated to greater job satisfaction in the organizational setting (Meriac, Slifka, & LaBat, 2015; Reed, Schmitz, Baker, Nukui, & Epperly, 2012).

Collectively, it shows that grit behavior play a major role in the academic performance of students. Also, results do highlight the positive role of grit in an academic context. Moreover, the condition in Asian contexts (Hong Kong, China and Singapore, and other interdependent settings such as the Philippines) may be different, with their collectivist values, social norms and traditions, and there is a need to examine the applicability of the notion of grit in a collectivist society.

Angela Lee Duckworth (2013) as a math teacher to seventh graders in a New York public school, quickly realized that IQ was not the only thing separating the successful students from those who struggled. Duckworth explains her theory of ‘grit’ as a predictor of success. She and her research team studied beginner teachers working in really tough areas, asking which teachers are still going to be here in teaching by the end of the school year and of those, who will be the most effective at improving learning outcomes for their students? In all those different situations, one characteristic appeared as a significant predictor of success; and it was not social intelligence. It was not good looks, physical health and it was not Intelligence Quotient. It was Grit. Grit is a passion and perseverance for very long-term goals.

Grit is having determination. Grit is run through with your future, day in, day out and for years, and working hard to make the future a reality. Grit is living life like it’s a marathon, not a race. Recently, she started studying grit in Chicago public schools. She asked thousands of high school juniors to take grit questionnaires, and then waited around more than a year to see who would graduate. Turns out that grittier kids were significantly more likely to graduate, even when she matched them on every characteristic she could measure, things like family income, standardized achievement test scores, even how safe kids felt when they were at school. So it’s not just at West Point or the National Spelling Bee that grit matters, it’s also in school, especially for students at risk for dropping out.

Their data show very clearly that there are many talented individuals who simply do not follow through on their obligations. In fact, in their statistics, grit is usually unrelated or even in reverse related to measure of talent. So far, the best concept she heard about building grit in students is called ‘growth mindset’. This is an idea developed at Stanford University by Carol Dweck (2016), and it is the belief that the ability to learn is not fixed, that it can change with your effort. Dr. Dweck has shown that when kids read and learn about the brain and how it changes and grows in response to challenge, they’re much more likely to continue when they fail, because they don’t accept as true that failure is a permanent condition. So growth mindset is a great idea for developing grit. People need to take the best ideas, the strongest perceptions, and we need to test them. We need to measure whether we’ve been successful, and we have to be willing to fail, to be wrong, to start over again with lessons learned. In other words, we need to be gritty about getting our kids grittier (Angela Lee Duckworth, 2013).

Grit is a different combination of passion, resilience, determination, and focus that allows a person to maintain the discipline and positivity to persevere in their goals even in the face of embarrassment, rejection, and a lack of visible progress for years. Through extensive exploration, Angela Duckworth and her team have proven that the common denominator among spelling bee finalists, successful West Point cadets, salespeople and teachers who not only stick with, but progress in their performance is grit.

According to study after study, people who are smart, talented, compassionate, curious, and come from stable, loving homes, generally don’t succeed if they don’t know how to work hard, remain committed to their goals, and persevere through struggles and failure. As parents, it is up to us to nurture the self-esteem and positivity in our children that will allow them to power through those low moments. A mother of two, Duckworth told Marguerite Del Giudice, “Kids are not able to just spontaneously grow up to be gritty people without being supported in that.”

So as parents, what can we do to provide that support? How do we teach our kids to push themselves? What can we do to help our kids be receptive to these tough lessons? Here are some ideas gathered from the “grit” experts about how to be intentional in our journey to build grit:

First, find a passion or at least an engaging activity. As children grow older, pursuing a particular interest of their own choosing can help them to recognize a passion and understand that practice, hard work and perseverance are surest way to achievement. One of the characteristics of “gritty” people is that they are “especially motivated to seek happiness through focused engagement and a sense of meaning or purpose,” (Duckworth Lab Research Statement), so letting a child find his or her own passion is necessary in the long term.

Second, identify that frustration, confusion and practice are par for the course, according to the Duckworth lab, those who accept as true that diligence and perseverance beat out their less optimistic, and often more talented. Dweck has found that people with “growth mindsets” are more resilient and tend to push through struggle because they believe that hard work is part of the method and they understand that failure is not a permanent condition. Those with “fixed mindsets” on the other hand, believe that achievement stems from innate talent and tend to give up easily—why work hard at something if you don’t believe you can change anything? It’s not that we should never let our children change interests or shift activities as they grow but understanding the value of practice, hard work and even struggle may be the thing that carries them across the finish line.

Third, take risks and tell the kids that Grit demands risk taking. Successful people are willing to step out of their comfort zones and risk failure in order to learn something new or pursue a long-term goal. A risk may end in failure, effective adults don’t give up.

Fourth, teach that failure is not the end, according to the Duckworth lab statement: gritty people have “cognitive natures that incline to look for various causes of their current problems.” Grit means continuing the hope and vision to change even under the most challenging situations. In order to teach children to be strong, adults need to show them real examples of how disappointments and setbacks can lead to success, by talking about them regularly, sharing our own experiences, and most importantly allowing the child to fail.

As parents, we all want to see our kids be successful, but as they search to find their pathway to success, it is important to show them that failure is part of the progression, not an endpoint, but a necessary passage on the road of achievement. If we don’t let them see us fail or experience a failure, they may not have the determination to overcome one when they are on their own. Failure is painful and embarrassing, and as parents it is hard to admit to our kids that it happens to us too. Yet exposing them to failure may be the very thing to protect them against giving up when they come face-to-face with failure themselves. They need to know that painful moments are not the end of something but a natural part of the journey toward success (Jenny Williams, 2015).

On Academic Performance

The students’ academic performance plays a vital role in making excellent graduates who will become great leader and manpower for the country thus responsible for the country’s economic and social development (Ali et al., 2009). Student academic performance has received extensive attention in prior researches, it is challenging facets of academic literature, and student performance are strongly affected due to social, psychological, economic, environmental and personal factors but it may differ from their experiences and environment.

According to Mushtaq & Khan (2012), they measure the student academic performance through several ways like GPA and their test result. Also, studies have found that HSGPA are significant predictors of performance in college (Cornwell, Mustard, & Van Parys, 2009; Komarraju et al., 2013). In addition, previous research has confirmed that grades and intelligence are the most consistent measure of student persistence in college and universities (Duckworth et al., 2007; Pascarella & Terenzini, 2005; Gottfredson, 1997; Hartigan &Wigdor, 1989). However, there are some studies that demonstrates that abilities such as talent, intelligence, and IQ are not significant predictors of high achievement or success (De Vera, Gavino, & Portugal, 2015; Dweck, 2007; Duckworth et al., 2007; Duckworth & Seligman, 2005).

As cited by Vianello (2010), in the Business Insider article, has confirmed the significance to academics of components of conscientiousness, such as persistence, motivation, and self-discipline. This is good news for educators, as there is the need for more reliable predictors of student success in both K12 classes and college admissions (Balfanz, 2007; Chamorro-Premuzic, 2003; Mackenzie, 2014; Vivo, 2008).

Generally, more than 25% of American students drop out of public high school every year (U.S. Department of Education, 2007). Continuing on with the 75% that do graduate, 68% will continue on to some college or university according to 2010 statistics (U.S. Department of Labor, 2011). Of the 68% of students who start some undergraduate program, less than 60% of them will actually finish a 4-year degree in 6 years. Though multiple factors in primary school affect overall graduation, nevertheless there is sufficient evidence that much attention is needed in the high school setting to help all students be successful in reaching for higher education goals, and in the long run, helping reduce drop-out rates, and increase a successful educational journey for all students (Morris, 2015).

On Absentee Parents

According to Beal, any children now live in homes with only one parent, involved in their upbringing on a regular basis. About half of all children in the United States live with only one parent at some point before they reach age 18. That parent is almost always the mother, despite the recent increase of television shows about what a family does; security, affection, emotional support and protection against a harsh and sometimes cruel world. Because of the tremendous impact that families have on the lives of adolescents, no youth ministry can afford to pay no attention to the family.

The students’ academic performance plays a vital role in making the excellent graduates who will become great leader and manpower for the country thus responsible for the country’s economic and social development (Ali etal., 2009). Student academic performance measurement has received substantial attention in prior researches, it is challenging aspects of academic literature and student performance are strongly affected due to social, psychological, economic, environmental and personal factors but it may vary from their experiences and environment.

There are adequate studies on the proposals on grit behavior and academic performance conducted in the Philippines and other countries surveyed by the researcher. The following related studies are hereby presented since they are related to the study which was undertaken.

Research has shown that grit facilitates positive psychological outcomes. However, almost all of these empirical investigations were carried out in Western societies which raise potential issues with regard to the generalizability of these results in collectivist settings. The present research hopes to address the lack of studies on grit in non-Western cultures through investigating the psychological effects of grit on educational and well-being outcomes among Filipino high school students. Six hundred six Filipino high school students (n = 606) participated in the current research. Results showed interesting cross-cultural differences. First, the two dimensions of grit – consistency of interest and perseverance of effort – were not significantly correlated. Second, path analysis revealed differential prediction associated with the two dimensions of grit. Only perseverance of effort positively predicted behavioral engagement, emotional engagement, and flourishing. However, both consistency of interest and perseverance of effort negatively predicted behavioral and emotional disengagement. The implications of the findings to existing theory and practice are discussed (Datu, Valdez, King, 2016)

In the study of Aliana Garcia, Arienne Cheung and Madelle Loredo last 2015 entitled ‘Correlation of the Academic Performance and Grit among the College of Arts and Sciences Batch 2014 Students of Lyceum of the Philippines – Laguna’, the research was conducted in LPU-Laguna for the 55 respondents. Findings showed that the GWA of the respondents from their overall school year is 1.916 with an interpretation of ‘Good’. For the level of grit of respondents, they are ‘Somewhat Gritty’ which implies that they have an average passion for long term goals but can be brought down by setbacks. In the relationship of grit and GWA, as the level of grit increases, there is a tendency for the respondents grades to increase. For the significant difference between the respondents’ grit and gender, it shows that females have a significantly higher level of grit than males. When knowing the significant difference between respondents’ grit when grouped by program, the level of grit is about the same for all groups of respondents. In general, this study concludes that there is indeed a significant relationship between academic performance and grit among college students.

On Academic Performance

Previous research cited by Lansangan, Baking, Quiambao, Nicdao, Nuqui, Cruz (2015), parental education and family socioeconomic status level have significant relationship with the student’s quality of achievement. Another factor which affects the academic performance of students is home environment. The academic performance of students greatly depends upon the parental involvement in their activities in school to reach the higher level of academic success (Barnard, 2004; Shumox and Lomax, 2001 as cited in Lansangan et al., 2015). Additional standpoint is grades; we see that those from a single parent have the lowest grades, whereas those from two parent families have the highest grades (Rivera, 2007 as cited in Lansangan et al., 2015). Moreover, academic achievement for students occurs within the construct of proper nutrition, living condition of parents and parents support to their children, as there is reciprocated influence between academic factors and non-academic factors for a student (Clark, 2009 as cited in Alcuizar, 2016).

Dr. Rebecca Alcuizar (2016) conducted a study on the Determinants of low academic performance for pupils in upland barangays, Iligan City. The purpose of this research work is to determine the significant factors that affect the low academic performance among pupils in upland barangays. The paper reviewed the focal literature focusing on the effect of the determinants of nutrition, families living condition, parents’ support to their children, and school related. These factors built an analytical model of determinants of pupils’ low performance in their academics with a mind of gaining useful insights into the weight of these determinants.

From the findings of this study, the determinants of nutrition, and living condition are the most related factors investigated that have significant effects on the low academic performance among the pupils of Rogongon, Iligan City, Philippines. Education in rural areas and upland barangays in the city has not given priority by the parents considering on their poor living condition and distance of the school from their home. Moreover, schools in rural areas have less support from local government for their instructional materials and training of teachers. Hence, the academic performance of the pupils in the area is poor as well as their National Achievement Test or NAT. Based on the findings of this paper, measures that can be taken by the school and local government are discussed and appropriate recommendations were made.

In the study of Bernardo last 2003 entitled ‘Approaches to learning and academic achievement of Filipino students’. Research has shown that a critical variable in determining academic achievement in different cultures and educational systems is approaches to learning. In this study, the author sought to determine whether this variable influences academic achievement among Filipino college students. The Learning Process Questionnaire (LPQ; J. B. Biggs, 1987) was used to assess approaches to learning. The results indicated that (a) the LPQ was a valid instrument to assess the learning approaches of non-low-achieving Filipino college students; (b) the Deep and Achieving subscale scores of the LPQ were positively related to academic achievement even when the effects of school ability and prior academic achievement were controlled; and (c) with some slight exceptions, the relationship between the LPQ scale scores and academic achievement were generally similar between male and female Filipino students. Implications for the study of student approaches to learning in different cultures and educational systems are discussed.

On Absentee Parents

The family is the micro world of the Filipino adolescent. It performs very important functions providing biological support, emotional security, protection and status to members. Through the socialization functions, the family plays an important role in the transmission of cultural values, beliefs, and customs; in the molding of personality and character of its members. However, a confluence of factors associated with the modernization and urbanization process had contributed to the weakening of the family structure. Economic and social opportunities have pulled family members away from home. These along with the increasing dominance of technology and media that can break the traditional way of living of people and values that brings the Filipino family together.

Filipino family configuration is projected to change with the decline in proportion of intact family households from 83 percent in 1970 to 78 percent in 2030. Female single headed households are likewise to rise from 9 to 12 percent for the same time frame. Consistent with this projection, the study shows that only 84 percent of adolescents have been raised under intact family structure leaving a substantial 16 percent reared under alternative family set-ups. Similarly, the dominance of the women figure is noted with a considerable proportion claiming to have been raised by the mother alone (6.4) percent) or mother and another person (1.7 percent) in contrast with those raised by father only (1.4 percent) or father with another person (0.5 percent). Intact families will continue to predominate; the considerable proportion of alternative family types suggests a growing number of the youth who will not be reared under the guidance of both parents.

As cited in http://www.iussp.org/Bangkok2002/s24cruz.pdf, a cross classification between the person who raised the adolescent (from birth to age 15) and current living arrangement sheds more light on the extent to which these adolescents have lived with their biological parents all throughout their childhood and adolescence. Assuming both variables cover this entire period, it would seem that only about two thirds (63.9 percent) of the youth have so far been living with their parent(s) from childhood to adolescence. A lower but significant proportion lived with their parents only at some points in their life. (Similarly, a small proportion (4.4 percent) may be considered deviants in terms of their socialization having absentee parents throughout this critical period of their life. The latter presents an interesting subgroup in terms of exploring the possible effect of this kind of family set up on risk taking behavior.

The family as the primary agent for socialization carries the ultimate responsibility for the well-being of the children. More than eight out of ten youth are raised by both natural father and mother. Eight percent are being raised by one parent, three percent by one parent with a partner, and six percent by other people. However, more and more young people are passing through the transition from childhood to adulthood not under the care of both parents, either because of work or a change in their family situation, brought about by either separation or death. It was found that 17 percent of young people were not raised by both parents, which is a slight increase from the 1994 data of 16 percent.

As cited in http://www.popcorn.gov.ph/sppr/sppr02/chap0 2a.html, a lower proportion of idle youth, or those not working nor studying, was raised by both parents. The proportions of other arrangements like being raised by one parent alone, one parent with a partner and other people, in turn, are more elevated in the idle youth group.

Prior studies have correspondingly revealed that “perseverance of effort” and “consistency of interest” has different connections with predictors of effective psychological, work-related, academic functioning. The perseverance of effort positively predicts academic achievement or performance (Rimfeld et al., 2016; Wolters &Hussian, 2015, Bowman et al., 2015), school motivation (Eskreis-Winkler, Shulman, Beal, & Duckworth, 2014), and persistence in college (Bowman et al., 2015). In addition, it is possible that the Western concept of grit as being a combination of perseverance of effort and consistency of interests may not generalize precisely to collectivist social communities for the reason that of cultural differences exist. While perseverance of effort may apply equally in both settings, the Western interpretation of consistency of interests of a person may not mesh with collectivist goals that are more socially oriented (King &McInerney, 2012; King, McInerney, & Watkins, 2012).

In the study of Duckworth, Peterson, Matthews, and Kelly last 2007 entitled ‘Grit: Perseverance and Passion for Long-Term Goals’, the importance of intellectual talent to achievement in all professional domains is well established, but less is known about other individual differences that predict success. The authors tested the importance of 1 non-cognitive trait: grit. Defined as perseverance and passion for long-term goals, grit accounted for an average of 4% of the variance in success outcomes, including educational attainment among 2 samples of adults (N=1,545 and N=690), grade point average among Ivy League undergraduates (N=138), retention in 2 classes of United States Military Academy, West Point, cadets (N=1,218 and N=1,308), and ranking in the National Spelling Bee (N=175). Grit did not relate positively to IQ but was highly correlated with Big Five Conscientiousness. Grit nonetheless demonstrated incremental predictive validity of success measures over and beyond IQ and conscientiousness. Collectively, these findings suggest that the achievement of difficult goals entails not only talent but also the sustained and focused application of talent over time.

A study entitled ‘Predicting School Success: Comparing Conscientiousness, Grit, and Emotion Regulation Ability’ by Zorana Ivcevic and Marc Brackett was conducted last 2014, they examined validity of three proposed self-regulation predictors of school outcomes – Conscientiousness, Grit and Emotion Regulation Ability (ERA). In a sample of private high school students (N = 213) we measured these constructs along with indices of school success obtained from records (rule violating behavior, academic recognitions, honors, and GPA) and self-reported satisfaction with school. Regression analyses showed that after controlling for other Big Five traits, all school outcomes were significantly predicted by Conscientiousness and ERA, but not Grit. The discussion focuses on the importance of broad personality traits (Conscientiousness; measure of typical performance) and self-regulation abilities (ERA; measure of maximal performance) in predicting school success.

In the research of Gale Lucas, Jonathan Gratch, Lin Cheng and Stacy Marsella last 2015 entitled ‘When the going gets tough: Grit predicts costly perseverance’ we investigate how grittier individuals might incur some costs by persisting when they could move on. Grittier participants were found to be less willing to give up when failing even though they were likely to incur a cost for their persistence. First, grit