Longitudinal Changes in Grit: A Comparison Between General and Vocational High School Students

This study examined longitudinal changes in grit between general and vocational high school students in Daegu, from middle school through high school. Using data from the Daegu Education Longitudinal Study(2017-2021), we tracked students for five years, from their first year of middle school to their second year of high school. To analyze the developmental trajectory of grit, we employed a mixed design (split-plot design) with time points as the within-subject factor (5 levels) and high school type (general vs. vocational) as the between-subject factor. The findings revealed that students attending vocational high schools were more likely to face long-distance commuting challenges compared to their peers in general high schools, highlighting the need for commuting support policies and improvements in the educational environment of vocational high schools. Overall, students in Daegu exhibited a declining trend in grit over time, with general high school students showing a particularly sharp decrease during the second year of middle school. This underscores the importance of strengthening emotional support systems and regularly monitoring students' psychological well-being. In contrast, vocational high school students demonstrated a significant increase in perseverance of effort at the point of high school entry but experienced a decline to levels comparable to general high school students by their second year of high school. These findings emphasize the need for pre-admission career counseling tailored to students' aptitudes and interests, as well as stepwise goal-setting programs to sustain perseverance of effort over the long term. Furthermore, the consistency of interests, a component of grit, showed a consistent decline over time regardless of high school type. Given the theoretical ambiguity and issues with discriminant validity in this dimension, further in-depth research is needed.