Reframing the debate: what children can become -- Colliding expectations of family and school -- Turning points in research on expectations: toward an ecological paradigm -- Revisiting educational self-fulfilling prophecies -- Expectations in classrooms: through the eyes of students -- Children talk about expectations for achievement -- Differences among classroom achievement cultures -- Children's lives in contrasting classrooms -- Achievement histories of vulnerability and resilience -- Expectations in systems: through the eyes of educators -- Changing a stratified school culture -- A school culture for the fullest development -- Achievement cultures for university faculty
Summary
Drawing upon a generation of research on self-fulfilling prophecies in education Reaching higher argues that our expectations of children are often too low. With compelling case studies, Weinstein shows that children typed early as "not very smart" can go on to accomplish far more than is expected of them by an educational system with too narrow a definition of ability and the way abilities should be nurtured. Weinstein faults the system, pointing out that teachers themselves are harnessed by policies that do not enable them to reach higher for all children. Her analysis takes us beyond current reforms that focus on accountability for test results. With rich descriptions of effective classrooms and schools, Weinstein makes a case for a changed system that will make the most of every child and enable students and teachers to engage more meaningfully in learning
Bibliography
Includes bibliographical references (pages 305-329) and index
