Marshall Smith
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.
Mel Riddile
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.
Elizabeth Reisner
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.
