Diligence and Academic Performance

The research literature in education is devoting increasing attention to the role of student effort in academic performance. This study posits a construct, diligence, which expresses or reflects an individual's effort toward achieving physical, mental, social, and spiritual ideals. A Diligence Inventory (DI) was developed using factor analysis and construct validation procedures. Although no statistical relation was found between diligence and ability, the two variables combined to predict 37% of the variance in the academic performance of 237 high-school students. Implications for educational practice include a greater need to affirm the efforts of youth in their quest for balanced educational development.