Grit in Adult Students With Disabilities: A Multiple-Case Study

Abstract

This multiple-case study sought to understand how adult students with disabilities demonstrate grit in the pursuit of higher education. Through in-depth, semi-structured interviews, this study found that adult students with disabilities demonstrate grit through seeking to understand their own disabilities and the impacts of those disabilities on their academics, finding solutions-based approaches in improving their academic skills, persevering through various forms of sacrifice, “pushing through,” and practice, seeking help from their support networks, and maintaining consistent interests in their courses of study while also keeping a greater purpose in mind. These findings are discussed in detail and implications for practice as well as future research are identified.