THE POWER OF STUDENT
AGENCY: Looking Beyond Grit
to Close the Opportunity Gap
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.
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PRAISE
“Kundu’s spirited writing encourages practitioners at all levels to move toward a strength-based model that affirms students and their capacity, and he challenges readers to examine their own beliefs about student success and demystify individualist ideologies that suggest success if one simply tries hard enough.”
―Teachers College Record
“Expertly written, organized and presented, The Power of Student Agency: Looking Beyond Grit to Close the Opportunity Gap is an extraordinary and highly recommended addition to school district, college, and university library Teacher Education collections.”
―Midwest Book Review
"Kundu’s book is much more than simply an academic contribution to the vast literature on education and social mobility. If his core ideas are taken seriously, this book can serve as a resource to educators, policymakers, community advocates, and others who seek to address the educational needs of vulnerable and disadvantaged students."
―From the Foreword by Pedro A. Noguera, dean, USC Rossier School of Education
"One of my favorite thinkers on the structural and personal opportunities all children need to thrive."
―Angela Duckworth, author of the bestseller Grit
“Whether you are an educator, a youth organizer, a theorist, or a researcher, you will appreciate Kundu’s commitment to representing ‘strivers of color’ from low-income communities in all the complexity they deserve. You will meet young people of vision and appetite. You will read of the academic hunger and the yearning for recognition that propels these young people forward. You will bear witness to the legacy of Medgar Evers, James Baldwin, Malcolm X, and others in the lives of young people who take on too much, try too hard to be perfect, burn out, and rise up again.”
―Michelle Fine, distinguished professor of critical psychology, The Graduate Center CUNY
"The Power of Student Agency is not only about what students can do. It is precisely a recognition of how we must see students, moving our gaze beyond the deficit perspective and toward a profit perspective that reveals not only the agency but power inherent in all human beings."
―David E. Kirkland, professor of urban education and executive director of NYU Metro Center
“Agency is the antidote to hopelessness and despair. Kundu’s exploration of this essential element of our humanity must be attended to if we hope to build schools that support the wellness of our children.”
―Jeff Duncan-Andrade, professor of ethnic studies, San Francisco State University
Curriculum Vitae (CV)