An Exploratory Investigation of Grit and its Relationship to Student Integration in Athletic Training Education Programs

Students must enroll in rigorous accredited academic programs and pass the National Board of Certification (BOC) examination to become athletic trainers. Therefore, studies in athletic training and student achievement focus on student persistence/retention and BOC Examination pass rates. The majority of studies conclude that cognitive measures like grade point average (GPA) have a relationship with both retention and exam pass rates. However, research should also consider meta-cognitive factors (i.e., personality traits). The purpose of this study was to examine the relationship between athletic training students\u27 grit (a metacognitive factor) and their academic, clinical, and social integration. The population for this study was athletic training students in a professional athletic training program in Florida. The study reported a correlational analysis to determine the relationship between grit and student integrations. Analysis of the data failed to find a statistically significant relationship between grit and student integration. However, further research with a larger sample size could identify the correlation between grit and student integration. A relationship between grit and student integration can affect three components of athletic training education: program admissions, clinical placements, and student advising