Promoting Grit, Tenacity, and Perseverance - U.S. Department of ...

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Conclusion 5: While there is a great deal of work in this area broadly, the importance of grit,
tenacity, and perseverance in education is not necessarily widely known, and stakeholders at
many levels may not understand the importance of investing resources in these priorities. In
many settings, awareness-raising is necessary so that teachers, administrators, parents, and all
other stakeholders in the educational community see these issues as important and become
invested in supporting change.
Recommendation 5a: Educators, administrators, and parents who understand the importance
of these issues and are passionate about shifting educational priorities, within their own
institutions and beyond, need to become proactive advocates for change in the educational
community to gain buy-in, tangible support for students as they pursue big goals, financial
resources, and political support.
Recommendation 5b: Researchers need to actively translate important findings to be
accessible and actionable. This brief presents Anderman’s (2011) 10 strategies for outreach as
a path for community engagement.
Additionally, parents and guardians can play a direct and important role in promoting their
children’s grit, tenacity, and perseverance. A systematic exploration of the complex roles of
parents and the home environment was outside the scope of this report. However, some
important themes did emerge in our interviews. First, some of the research-based best practices
also can be employed in the home as parents work with their children around academic goals.
For example, instilling a growth mindset through consistently praising effort over ability is a
simple practice that can have important payoffs. Psychologist Carol Dweck writes on her website
for parents at http://mindsetonline.com/forum/parentsteach/index.html as follows:
What should parents do? Research shows that praising the process—children’s effort or
strategies—creates eagerness for challenges, persistence in the face of difficulty, and
enhanced performance. Next time you are tempted to tell your child that he or she is the
next Einstein or future Picasso, stop yourself. Instead, take the time to appreciate what
they put into their work, not what the work means about their innate brains or talent. Ask
them how they went about it and show them how you appreciate their choices, their
thinking process, or their persistence. Ask them about strategies that didn’t work and
what they learned from them. When they make mistakes, use these as occasions for
teaching them to come up with new strategies. When they do something quickly, easily,
and perfectly, do not tell them how great they are. Tell them, “I’m sorry I wasted your
time on something too easy for you. Let’s do something you can learn from.” Look for
ways to convey your valuing of effort, perseverance, and learning—rather than some
empty display of ability. Instead of false confidence in fixed ability, these methods will
foster an appreciation for the true ingredients of achievement.
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