Antecedents of undergraduate research skills and the mediating role of grit
Bibliographic Data
| ID | 4915844 |
|---|---|
| Authors | Anesito Cutillas (0000-0003-2698-2412, Cebu Technological University), Eingilbert Benolirao (0000-0002-7714-0744, Cebu Technological University), Johannes Camasura (0000-0001-9415-4999, Cebu Technological University), Edgardo Lilio (Cebu Technological University), Kafferine Yamagishi (0000-0002-0775-6156, Cebu Technological University), Liliana Ocampo (0000-0002-5050-7606, Cebu Technological University, corresponding author) |
| Year | 2025 |
| Volume | 50 |
| Issue | 6 |
| Pages | 1180-1205 |
| Publication date | 2025-06-03 |
| Peer Reviewed | Yes |
| Open Access | No |
| Type | ARTICLE |
| Venue | Studies in Higher Education (JOURNAL) |
| Journal identifiers | ISSN: 0307-5079 • E-ISSN: 1470-174X |
| Publisher | Informa UK Limited (PUBLISHER • GB) |
| DOI | 10.1080/03075079.2024.2367146 |
| OpenAlex | W4399784058 |
| Language | EN |
| Citations received | 2 |
| References cited | 127 |
This study offers a structural model that explores constructs such as mentoring, affinity for technology, need for cognition, and self-efficacy for promoting students’ research skills, emphasizing the mediating role of grit. The proposed model is guided by Bandura’s social learning theory, which helps explain how students acquire research skills through social interaction, observation, and imitation. An empirical self-perception survey of 568 undergraduate students with completed research projects was carried out using partial least squares – structural equation modelling. Four significant findings advance the domain literature. First, the findings reveal that mentoring alone is not associated with research skills but is mediated by grit. Second, students’ affinity for technology is positively associated with research skills but is not mediated by grit. Such a finding agrees with the notion that using digital tools helps students facilitate essential resources to improve their ability to collect, analyze, and communicate research findings. Third, while students’ inclination towards critical thinking and problem-solving are undoubtedly relevant to research, these cognitive aspects alone are not directly linked to research skills without those traits associated with grit, effectively highlighting the significant mediating role of grit. Finally, self-efficacy is significantly associated with developing research skills and is partially mediated by grit, as students may be more confident and motivated to implement research tasks. The presence of grit supports self-efficacy by advancing the resilience of students when faced with challenges. Insights from these findings contain theoretical and practical takeaways that could guide university practitioners in enhancing students’ research skills
Grit · Higher education · Mathematics education · Pedagogy · Political science · Career Development and Diversity · Grit, Self-Efficacy, and Motivation · Psychology · Resilience and Mental Health · Social Psychology
Assessment and Teaching of 21st Century Skills
The Efficient Assessment of Need for Cognition
Defining mentoring
Self-Control and Grit
Digital Transformation in Higher Education Institutions
The Knowledge Creation Metaphor – An Emergent Epistemological Approach to Learning
Considering the Role of Affect in Learning
How to Specify, Estimate, and Validate Higher-Order Constructs in PLS-SEM
PLS path modeling
Current status, opportunities and challenges of augmented reality in education
Lateral Collinearity and Misleading Results in Variance-Based SEM
Undergraduate research experiences
Investigating grit and its relations with college students’ self-regulated learning and academic achievement
Mentoring College Students
Partial least squares structural equation modeling (PLS-SEM)
Self-efficacy in the prediction of academic performance and perceived career options.
The Role of Grit in Determining Engagement and Academic Outcomes for University Students
The influence of academic self-efficacy on academic performance
The Very Efficient Assessment of Need for Cognition
Mediation analysis in partial least squares path modeling
How Reliable are Measurement Scales? External Factors with Indirect Influence on Reliability Estimators
A Personal Resource for Technology Interaction
Two Structural Equation Models
PLS-Sem
A new criterion for assessing discriminant validity in variance-based structural equation modeling
Asymptotic and resampling strategies for assessing and comparing indirect effects in multiple mediator models
When to use and how to report the results of PLS-SEM
Evaluating Structural Equation Models with Unobservable Variables and Measurement Error
PLS-SEM or CB-SEM
Development and Validation of the Short Grit Scale (Grit–S)
Common Method Bias in PLS-SEM
Partial least squares structural equation modeling (PLS-SEM)
Social learning theory
Does Mentoring Directly Improve Students’ Research Skills? Examining the Role of Information Literacy and Competency Development
Epistemic agency in student teachers’ engagement with research skills
Personal growth initiative and depression
Cultivating research skills through scholarly digital storytelling
Exploring the effects of gamification pedagogy on children’s reading
The relationship between talent management practices and retention of generation ‘Y’ employees
Structural equation modeling in practice
What Shall We Do About Grit? A Critical Review of What We Know and What We Don’t Know
Understanding Differences in Web Usage
Grit, self-efficacy, achievement orientation goals, and academic performance in University students
Digital learning in schools
Research studies and active learning promoting professional competences in Finnish teacher education
IQ, grit, and academic achievement
Analyzing youth digital participation
Need for cognition and external information search effort
To grit or not to grit, that is the question
Grit
Much ado about grit
Effects of need for cognition on message evaluation, recall, and persuasion
Personality and persuasion
The need for cognition
Dispositional differences in cognitive motivation
What works and why? Student perceptions of 'useful' digital technology in university teaching and learning
An experimental investigation of need for cognition
Need for Cognition and Electronic Health Literacy and Subsequent Information Seeking Behaviors Among University Undergraduate Students
Reconsidering Baron and Kenny
| Unique citing works | 2 |
|---|---|
| Citations per year | 2 |
| Citation span | 2025 - 2026 (2) |
| Citation velocity | current |
| Highly cited | No |
| Citation types | Neutral: 2 |