The Power of Student Agency

Looking Beyond Grit to Close the Opportunity Gap

De: Anindya Kundu, Pedro A. Noguera - foreword

Narrado por: Neil Shah

How can we promote the learning and well-being of all students, especially those who come from some of the most disadvantaged backgrounds? Anindya Kundu argues that we can fight against deeply rooted inequalities in the American educational system by harnessing student agency - each person's unique capacity for positive change. To make his case, Kundu draws powerful narratives from a population of individuals who beat the odds to become academically and professionally successful. These strivers have overcome challenges such as broken families, homelessness, unexpected pregnancies, forms of abuse, incarceration, and more, to make it in the world. But it wasn't simply individualism, tenacity, resilience, or grit that helped them. Rather, as Kundu illustrates, it was a combination of social and cultural supports that paved the path towards their dreams, harnessing the inherent power of their agency.

©2020 Teachers College, Columbia University (P)2021 Tantor

If you loved Grit, you'll really enjoy this book

Like many people, I absolutely loved Grit by Angela Duckworth. And if you enjoyed that book, you definitely need this book from Anindya Kundu. Kundu expands off of the idea of "grit" by explaining that there's more, which comes in the form of student agency. The only thing that bums me out about this book is that I don't think it'll get nearly as much credit as it deserves. It should be up there with Grit as one of the most popular books about how young people can overcome adversity and succeed. 

Although I don't think it was the intention of Grit, I think it'll be more well-received that The Power of Student Agency because Grit plays into our distorted idea of what it takes to succeed. While Grit focuses on the power of the person, Kundu reminds us that it takes the community to help young people succeed. Kundu has done in-depth research that shows how far people can go when they have the support of their families, teachers, and communities. I think what I loved the most about this book is you can tell how badly Kundu legitimately just wants to see people thrive. You can tell there's no other agenda or motive other than wanting to help shift society to give young people a fair shot at success.