Engaging Minds: Motivation and Learning in America's Schools

Why don't most kids work very hard in school? What can be done to increase the engagement of our children in learning? Everyone concerned about improving the quality of elementary and secondary schools in the United States will want to read this accessible volume that provides a framework for thinking about what can be done to increase student engagement in learning. It is an important contribution to the ongoing dialogue among practitioners, policy makers, and the public at large about many existing proposals for school reform. In addition to offering a number of suggestions for specific new policies and practices, it poses several broader philosophical questions that deserve serious consideration by opinion leaders and the general public.

Table of Contents:
Chapter 1 Preface Chapter 2 Chapter 1 Introduction Chapter 3 Chapter 2 Engagement: A Necessary Condition for Learning Chapter 4 Chapter 3 Effort versus Ability: A Matter of Expectations Chapter 5 Chapter 4 Rewards for Effort Chapter 6 Chapter 5 Organizing Effort: Increasing the Efficiency of Learning Chapter 7 Chapter 6 Valuing Effort: Social and Cultural Influences on Academic Motivation Chapter 8 Chapter 7 Competition for Effort: Academic versus Other Goals Chapter 9 Chapter 8 Engaging More Minds: Increasing Motivation and Learning in Schools Chapter 10 References Chapter 11 Index Chapter 12 About the Author

About the Author :
David A. Goslin is past president and CEO of the American Institutes for Research in the Behavioral Sciences (AIR) and former executive Director of the National Research Council's Commission on Behavioral and Social Sciences and Education (CBASSE). A sociologist, he is the author or editor of four books: The Search for Ability: Standardized Testing in Social Perspective; Teachers and Testing; The School in Contemporary Society; and The Handbook of Socialization Theory and Research.

Review :
After all the debates about improving curriculum, teaching, testing, and the organization of schooling, Goslin cuts through this thicket to address a central impediment to real learning: student motivation and engagement. Drawing on current research in this complex field, Goslin provides a concrete guide to understanding the forces shaping motivation. Readers can use this resource to craft improved approaches to stimulating students' love of learning and their motivation to learn more. The questionnaire item 'Good luck is more important than hard work for success in school' was the most powerful single predictor for achievement in the famous study by James Coleman in 1966. A "no" response predicted high achievement. Hard work is the product of motivation, the topic of this important book. David Goslin examines in a thoughtful and readable style the nature and determinants of this common sense notion of what propels some people successfully through life. For parents and teachers, as well as scholars, this is a compelling read. The central message of David Goslin's important new book is that engagement in the learning process is the key to academic achievement. Students at JEB Stuart High School in Northern Virginia speak more than 40 languages and 60 percent of them are eligible for free or reduced price lunches. Yet we are sending 90 percent of our students on to college. Our success can be attributed in large part to the creation of a mutually supportive community of students, parents, and teachers committed to the importance of academic achievement. Stuart's story provides clear evidence in support of much of what Goslin has to say about the things that positively affect engagement in learning and what can be done to increase it. A concrete and readable guide to understanding the forces shaping students' motivation...Thoughtful, timely, and compelling, this study will serve as a great reference for further research in the field and is recommended not only for educators but for parents and teachers as well. Educational researcher Goslin examines the forces that keep students from taking an interest in their studies, and, thus, from achieving academic success, in this in-depth analysis. This is a timely book on a topic of central importance. Student engagement has been largely ignored by contemporary educational theorists and researchers. Yet it may be the key to understanding when learning occurs and when it does not. Anyone interested in understanding why should be certain to read this book.