This study aimed to examine the level of academic grit among final-year students in the Early Childhood Education (PG PAUD) program and to analyze its relationship with students’ reasons for choosing their major, specifically between autonomous choice (self-determined) and non-autonomous choice (parental influence or external recommendation). A quantitative survey design was employed, involving 55 final-year students completing their thesis. Data were collected using the Academic Grit Scale (Clark & Malecki, 2019), adapted to the Indonesian context. The findings revealed that students generally demonstrated high levels of academic grit (M = 41.98), with 94.5% categorized as high to very high. ANOVA results indicated no statistically significant differences in grit levels based on reasons for choosing the major [F(2,52) = 0.782, p = 0.463, η² = 0.029]. Although students who chose their major autonomously showed slightly higher grit scores compared to those who followed external recommendations, the differences were not significant. These results suggest that the relationship between autonomous choice and grit is complex and mediated by motivational internalization, satisfaction of basic psychological needs, and the quality of the learning environment. In the collectivist cultural context of Indonesia, family influence does not necessarily hinder grit development, as long as students succeed in internalizing the values behind their choice. This study highlights practical implications for university counseling services, particularly in facilitating the internalization of professional values and supporting the identity development of students as future early childhood educators.
As adaptive learning systems are increasingly implemented to support personalized education, concerns have emerged regarding their tendency to rely on narrow and reductionist intelligence models. This study aims to analyze the influence of intelligence variations in adaptive learning design through a systematic literature review. Using the PRISMA 2020 protocol, fifteen empirical articles from the period 2010–2025 were critically reviewed. The results show the dominance of rule-based approaches with static profiles that rely on the linguistic-logical-mathematical dimension as the default parameter, ignoring the potential of other dimensions such as naturalist and existential. Artificial intelligence integration offers dynamic personalization potential but poses pedagogical and ethical dilemmas. Empirical evidence in Indonesia confirms the effectiveness of multiple intelligences-based adaptive learning on reading literacy and science creativity, despite constraints related to infrastructure and teacher capacity. The findings lead to three design principles: multimodal flexibility, cultural calibration of measurement instruments, and technology–pedagogical balance. This study recommends the development of hybrid prototypes and ethical standards for the use of cognitive data to realize an inclusive learning ecosystem. The implications of this review indicate that adaptive learning design should move beyond single-intelligence models by adopting culturally calibrated, multimodal, and pedagogically guided adaptation strategies. These implications provide a concrete framework for educators, designers, and developers to design more inclusive and context-responsive adaptive learning systems.