Higher Expectations - by Derek Bok (Hardcover)
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<p/><br></br><p><b> About the Book </b></p></br></br>"Over its long history, undergraduate education has gradually evolved from its early years when colleges offered an exacting study of classical texts to the tiny segment of America's young men destined for careers as ministers, teachers, and civic leaders. After the United States began to industrialize during the 19th century, the demand for graduates with practical skills led eventually to the demise of the classical curriculum to make way for more useful and contemporary subjects. As the Gross Domestic Product grew rapidly in the decades following World War II, the need for competent managers and professionals grew with it. In response, the size and variety of vocational programs exploded to accommodate an enormous growth in the number of young men and women seeking to enroll. Today, the undergraduate curriculum may be entering a new phase. The needs of an increasingly sophisticated economy coupled with advances in the cognitive sciences have given rise to intriguing possibilities for helping students to acquire additional competencies and qualities of mind that could enable them to live more successful, useful, and satisfying lives. This book asks a straightforward question: Do colleges and universities have the right curricula and pedagogy to prepare today's students for the future? Former Harvard president Derek Bok examines this question according to the following measures: Preparation for Citizenship; Preparing Students for an Interdependent World; Character; A Purposeful and Meaningful Life; Improving Interpersonal Skills; and Improving Intrapersonal Skills. He then explores Unconventional Methods of Teaching; Prospects for Change; and Reform; and concludes with Reflections on the Future"--<p/><br></br><p><b> Book Synopsis </b></p></br></br><p><b>How our colleges and universities can respond to the changing hopes and needs of society</b> <p/>In recent decades, cognitive psychologists have cast new light on human development and given colleges new possibilities for helping students acquire skills and qualities that will enhance their lives and increase their contributions to society. In this landmark book, Derek Bok explores how colleges can reap the benefits of these discoveries and create a more robust undergraduate curriculum for the twenty-first century. <p/>Prior to this century, most psychologists thought that creativity, empathy, resilience, conscientiousness, and most personality traits were largely fixed by early childhood. What researchers have now discovered is that virtually all of these qualities continue to change through early adulthood and often well beyond. Such findings suggest that educators may be able to do much more than was previously thought possible to teach students to develop these important characteristics and thereby enable them to flourish in later life. <p/>How prepared are educators to cultivate these qualities of mind and behavior? What do they need to learn to capitalize on the possibilities? Will college faculties embrace these opportunities and make the necessary changes in their curricula and teaching methods? What can be done to hasten the process of innovation and application? In providing answers to these questions, Bok identifies the hurdles to institutional change, proposes sensible reforms, and demonstrates how our colleges can help students lead more successful, productive, and meaningful lives.</p><p/><br></br><p><b> Review Quotes </b></p></br></br><br>One of Forbes' Best Higher Education Books of 2020<br><br><i>Higher Expectations</i> provides a helpful guide for those who hope to fortify and reform this dwindling but essential collection of institutions. Bok's vision of the purposes of higher education is unlikely to become the official state religion, but it could serve as a beautiful hymnal in dissenting churches.<b>---Jay P. Greene, <i>Education Next</i></b><br><br>In this highly readable and engaging book, he delineates how colleges can better prepare students to gain the skills and develop the habits of mind necessary to succeed in life, especially in a fast-moving, knowledge-based society. . . . Highly recommended for college faculty and administrators, and anyone interested in how college students can find meaning and purpose in life.-- "Library Journal"<br><br>A useful though eminently debatable case for reform in the interest of teaching to today's needs.-- "Kirkus Reviews"<br><p/><br></br><p><b> About the Author </b></p></br></br><b>Derek Bok</b> is the 300th Anniversary University Research Professor at Harvard University. He served as the twenty-fifth president of Harvard from 1971 to 1991, and as interim president from 2006 to 2007. His many books include <i>The Struggle to Reform Our Colleges</i>, <i>Higher Education in America</i>, <i>Our Underachieving Colleges</i>, and <i>The Shape of the River</i> (all Princeton).
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