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Dissertation
Understanding Grit, Anxiety, and Their Influence on First-Year Undergraduate Honors College Success
Doctor of Education (Ed.D.), Drexel University
Jun 2023
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.17918/00001696
Abstract
The purpose of this mixed methods study was to identify the relationship between grit and anxiety within first-year honors college undergraduate students through student surveys, interviews, and archival data. Identifying this relationship may result in additional supportive honors programming in future years as well as add to the understanding of how to cultivate grit within the first-year experience. The researcher also hoped to identify how grit relates to both student engagement and academic performance, as well as coping strategies within the first-year experience. The research questions for this study were: (RQ1) What is the relationship between grit and trait anxiety in undergraduate first-year university honors students? (RQ2) How does trait anxiety show up in the experiences and coping strategies of first-year university honors students? (RQ3) How does grit and trait anxiety relate to student engagement and academic performance in first-year university honors students? The researcher's conceptual framework stems from three streams: anxiety and the first-year experience, grit, and Honors College. A 35-item survey was distributed to 300 first-year honors students; items included the Short Grit scale (Grit-S; Duckworth & Quinn, 2009), the t-anxiety portion of the State-Trait Anxiety Inventory (STAI; Spielberger et al., 2015), and questions regarding student engagement. A total of 62 students completed the survey. Six of these students also answered five semi-structured interview questions relating to their first-year anxieties, challenges, supports, and coping mechanisms. Results showed no significant correlation between grit and anxiety. The study's honors students have a higher trait-anxiety score of 44.78 than the average for college students (39.35; see Spielberger et al., 2015). Anxieties within first-year students are typically broken down into four categories: academic, social, professional, and personal. These subthemes were identified within the semi-structured interviews; anxiety is found in all components of the student experience. Coping mechanisms within first-year honors students for anxiety rely heavily on external partnerships (e.g., peer networks, resource centers, staff, faculty). There was a significant positive relationship between grit and student engagement. No other significant relationships were found. Keywords: Anxiety, first-year students, honors college, grit
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Details
- Title
- Understanding Grit, Anxiety, and Their Influence on First-Year Undergraduate Honors College Success
- Creators
- Julia Wisniewski
- Contributors
- Salvatore Falletta (Advisor)
- Awarding Institution
- Drexel University
- Degree Awarded
- Doctor of Education (Ed.D.)
- Publisher
- Drexel University; Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
- Number of pages
- vii, 27 pages
- Resource Type
- Dissertation
- Language
- English
- Academic Unit
- School of Education (1997-2026); Drexel University
- Other Identifier
- 991020876803504721