Young people can be helped to develop more grit

“We want to awaken hidden potentials and nurture the abilities that exist within the pupils,” said Professor Hermundur Sigmundsson at the Department of Psychology at the Norwegian University of Science and Technology (NTNU). 

He and the research team he is part of were able to increase grit in 15-year-olds using a short and simple programme.

The scores increased for both sexes, but only significantly for boys.

“It is like flipping a switch,” said Sigmundsson.

The same programme also yielded a small increase for the girls, but it was not significant. More about that later.

Major study involving Year 10 pupils

After promising results from a pilot study, the researchers were able to test the method on a larger number of pupils.

This time, 421 Year 10 pupils participated in the study organized by Sigmundsson and his colleagues. These pupils were selected from 38 schools participating in the MOT programme, which has also presented the results in an article. 

265 of the pupils participated in the new programme called ‘I CAN’, while the rest of the pupils received an alternative offer.

‘I CAN’ is specifically designed to increase grit and self-efficacy among the participants and contribute to greater self-confidence and a mindset focused on success.

Successful for both sexes, but most effective for boys

“Our results show that the boys increased their grit after completing the short programme,” said Sigmundsson.

The researchers observed an improvement in 10 out of 12 variables that were tested and found a significant change in the boys, specifically a notable improvement.

“We wanted to awaken their belief in themselves, to ‘flip the switch’, and the results suggest that we have succeeded with the boys,” said Sigmundsson.

However, there were no significant changes for the girls, although they also showed an increase in all four variables on which they were specifically tested. There may be many explanations for this.

Why it doesn’t work as well for girls

“Previous research shows that passion is more important for boys than for girls. Boys often need to be passionate about something in order to succeed at it, and this may affect the results. Since several of the examples we used relate to elite sports, it is possible that ‘I CAN’ appeals more to boys than girls. It is likely that many of the boys find these examples relate more to their own interests,” said Sigmundsson.

Boys generally perform weaker in school than girls and are more likely to lack self-control. The potential for improvement in these factors is therefore greater for boys. Girls do not have as much room for improvement.

‘I CAN’ is also designed to reward a certain type of behaviour by triggering dopamine, a hormone that can make us feel better, which may also appeal more to boys.

Compiling the results in a book

“We are able to influence the behaviour of these young people, which is very promising,” said Sigmundsson.

MOT.no has now included the ‘I CAN’ intervention in its programme, meaning approximately 16,000 15-year-olds can participate in the programme each year.

Many young people struggle not only at school but also in other contexts. More young people are struggling with mental health issues than before. Consequently, tools that can reverse this trend will become even more important.

The promising results will now be followed up in a new study involving young people between the ages of 16 and 19.

Sigmundsson has spent several years studying the factors needed to succeed at something. Many of the findings have been presented here at Gemini. He has also compiled much of what he has learned in two new books called ‘How We Learn and Become Experts. Igniting the Spark’ and ‘Understanding Passion. The key to success’.

Reference:
Sigmundsson H, Hauge H, Leversen JSR and Haga M (2024) I CAN intervention to increase grit and growth mindset: exploring the intervention for 15-year-olds Norwegian adolescents. Front. Educ. 9:1438280. doi: 10.3389/feduc.2024.1438280. Received: 25 May 2024; Accepted: 21 October 2024; Published: 22 November 2024.