Examination of Grit Levels of Teachers According to Personal Variables

Abstract

The purpose of this study is to determine whether or not the grit level of teachers varied according to their personal variables. The research, in the descriptive screening model, was conducted on 360 teachers who were chosen according to simple random sampling method and working in primary schools, secondary schools and high schools in Adapazarı district of Sakarya province. In the data collecting phase, “Grit Scale”, which is developed by Duckworth and Quinn (2009a) and adapted into Turkish culture by Argon and Kaya (2017), is used. Means, standard deviations and parametric analyzes of individual variables were used in the analysis of the research data. According to the results of the research, grit level of the teachers is at the level of agreeing in the dimension of total scale and consistency of interest while in the dimension of the perseverance of effort is at level of being fully agreeing. Teachers' views of their grit level according to their personal variables revealed a significant difference only in perseverance of effort dimension in terms of sex. Age, vocational seniority, school type, graduation status and branch variables are not influential variables in teacher opinions and teacher opinions are similar. It has emerged that female teachers are more gritty than male teachers in perseverance of effort dimension in which teachers’ views differ from one another Some of the suggestions developed according to the research results are as following: Although the grit levels of teachers are close to high, they are not at the desired level and qualitative studies can be used to determine the factors affecting teachers' wishes and expectations in order to increase this level and fulfil their needs. Since the grit levels of the teachers contribute to the improvement of the performance of the students, with the establishment of the environments where the teachers can use these potentials, with fund allocation for effective use of this qualified human power at the current level in the schools and with creating the conditions for teachers to take part in long-term projects, the motivation of the teachers can be increased. New and different researches can be carried to determine the organizational variables other than the personal variables that may affect the teachers’ grit.