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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New Release! Transforming Educational Leadership: Non-Traditional Narratives to Promote Equity in Uncertain Times
In Transforming Educational Leadership, Anindya Kundu challenges us to rethink what leadership in schools can be. At a time when educators are navigating deep uncertainty, political pressure, burnout, and widening inequities, this book offers a fresh, human-centered vision for how leaders can create schools where more people feel seen, supported, and able to thrive. Drawing on research, real-world examples, and powerful stories, Kundu shows how non-traditional narratives — the voices, experiences, and insights too often left out of leadership conversations — can help institutions become more responsive, equitable, and transformative. Written for educators, leaders, parents, advocates, and anyone who cares about the future of schooling, this book is both a call to action and a practical invitation to build educational environments where opportunity is not the exception, but the expectation.
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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.”
―Michelle Fine, distinguished professor of critical psychology, The Graduate Center CUNY