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Higher Expectations: Can Colleges Teach Students What They Need to Know in the 21st Century?
How our colleges and universities can respond to the changing hopes and needs of society
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
- GenresEducation
232 pages, Hardcover
Published August 25, 2020
13 people are currently reading
84 people want to read
About the author
Derek Bok
32 books17 followersDerek Curtis Bok (born March 22, 1930) is an American lawyer and educator, and the former president of Harvard University.
Bok was born in Bryn Mawr, Pennsylvania, and graduated from Stanford University (B.A., 1951), Harvard Law School (J.D., 1954), and George Washington University (A.M., 1958). He taught law at Harvard from 1958, where he served as dean of the law school (1968–1971) and then as university president (1971–1991). Bok currently serves as the Faculty Chair at the Hauser Center for Nonprofit Organizations at Harvard and continues to teach at the Harvard Graduate School of Education and the Harvard Kennedy School.
After 15 years away from the Harvard presidency, Bok returned to lead the university on an interim basis after Lawrence Summers's resignation took effect on July 1, 2006. He was succeeded by Drew Gilpin Faust on July 1, 2007.
Bok's wife, the sociologist and philosopher Sissela Bok, née Myrdal (daughter of the Swedish economist Gunnar Myrdal and the politician and diplomat Alva Myrdal, both Nobel laureates), is also affiliated with Harvard, where she received her doctorate in 1970. His daughter, Hilary Bok, is a philosophy professor at Johns Hopkins University.
Bok was born in Bryn Mawr, Pennsylvania, and graduated from Stanford University (B.A., 1951), Harvard Law School (J.D., 1954), and George Washington University (A.M., 1958). He taught law at Harvard from 1958, where he served as dean of the law school (1968–1971) and then as university president (1971–1991). Bok currently serves as the Faculty Chair at the Hauser Center for Nonprofit Organizations at Harvard and continues to teach at the Harvard Graduate School of Education and the Harvard Kennedy School.
After 15 years away from the Harvard presidency, Bok returned to lead the university on an interim basis after Lawrence Summers's resignation took effect on July 1, 2006. He was succeeded by Drew Gilpin Faust on July 1, 2007.
Bok's wife, the sociologist and philosopher Sissela Bok, née Myrdal (daughter of the Swedish economist Gunnar Myrdal and the politician and diplomat Alva Myrdal, both Nobel laureates), is also affiliated with Harvard, where she received her doctorate in 1970. His daughter, Hilary Bok, is a philosophy professor at Johns Hopkins University.
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Displaying 1 - 7 of 7 reviews
October 13, 2024
Higher Expectations is a well written book delivered from a long tenured Higher Education President. Bok imparts knowledge as well as his analysis of what higher education can look like if done right. This is an academic read aimed towards those studying higher education or those who just want to understand it better. I enjoyed it and felt like I learned a good bit more about college/university life.
I would recommend if you like:
Books written by experts in their field
To learn more about higher education
Want to learn more about something you didn’t know much about before (an opportunity to gain random knowledge)
I would caution you if:
You don’t care to learn about the history and changes of higher education
I would recommend if you like:
Books written by experts in their field
To learn more about higher education
Want to learn more about something you didn’t know much about before (an opportunity to gain random knowledge)
I would caution you if:
You don’t care to learn about the history and changes of higher education
April 19, 2023
Worst book on pedagogy I’ve ever read. Little to no useful information. Bland generalities from someone clearly disconnected to the real challenges of undergraduate education these days. I had “higher expectations” of this book!
October 7, 2020
Derek Box had been a leader in higher education for a long time. His new book will again show that he has not only has insights but a passion for what higher education must do.
As with many writirs in higher education, he starts with a background about his topic. It’s more than a history lesson. He tells us that one problem in high ed is the focus on research, not teaching undergrads. He wants colleges to do more in educating citizens who will have to live in a world like we have never seen before.
The labels on the chapters may sound old fashioned. The content is not old. Bok is telling us to do something radical in higher education.
The book needs to be read by college presidents and provosts (which we used to called deans). The book should be the circle of what faculty are reading.
By the way, in the last pages of this book the author tells us he is in his 90’s. He’s a model of always learning and sharing his knowledge and experiences.
As with many writirs in higher education, he starts with a background about his topic. It’s more than a history lesson. He tells us that one problem in high ed is the focus on research, not teaching undergrads. He wants colleges to do more in educating citizens who will have to live in a world like we have never seen before.
The labels on the chapters may sound old fashioned. The content is not old. Bok is telling us to do something radical in higher education.
The book needs to be read by college presidents and provosts (which we used to called deans). The book should be the circle of what faculty are reading.
By the way, in the last pages of this book the author tells us he is in his 90’s. He’s a model of always learning and sharing his knowledge and experiences.
February 7, 2021
This book was easy to read, timely, and thought-provoking. The author, Derek Bok, writes from years of quiet and not-so quiet observation, having served as the president of Harvard from 1971 - 1991, and interim president from 2006 - 2007. Yes, higher education has changed from its original goal of studying the classics but, he contends, may not have changed enough to meet what society needs of college graduates.
The book begins with an informative overview. Ten chapters which explore topics such as: if colleges should teach ethics, if students should be encouraged to find life-meaning and purpose, what are the most valued interpersonal and intrapersonal skills, and if meaningful change can occur follow. Bok notes that this book was written before covid, which will definitely impact higher education. I continue to think about the content of this book and how higher ed will change, especially now, when it is almost being forced to do so.
The book begins with an informative overview. Ten chapters which explore topics such as: if colleges should teach ethics, if students should be encouraged to find life-meaning and purpose, what are the most valued interpersonal and intrapersonal skills, and if meaningful change can occur follow. Bok notes that this book was written before covid, which will definitely impact higher education. I continue to think about the content of this book and how higher ed will change, especially now, when it is almost being forced to do so.
March 10, 2023
I was unfamiliar with Derek Bok, but came across this book when browsing the audiobooks available through the library and thought it sounded interesting. I'm interested in ideas for improving Higher Ed and thought I might find valuable insights in the writings of someone who spent decades as the president of Harvard. In short, I was unimpressed. I felt like the entire book could have been better if condensed into a single article, and even then it would not have offered me any compelling, novel, or particularly interesting insights.
I am a career educator and soon to complete a doctorate in education (EdD). On the surface, a book like this should be most useful for people like me, because we often go on to hold leadership positions in colleges and universities. But I found nearly nothing new or uniquely useful in the ideas Bok presents about what students can and should learn in college, the challenges of changing engrained practices and systems of academia, and possible new policies that may lead to improved student learning outcomes, life readiness, and engaged citizenship. He suggests that his ideas might be perceived as "revolutionary" but to me, many of them came across as undeniably incremental and non-disruptive.
I have known educators much older than me who seem to be much more in touch with the experiences, perspectives, and culture of today. In my view, Bok makes many assumptions that are not up to date with what the professional consensus of leading professionals in higher ed learning. I thought the section about the (weakly defined) "conscientiousness" was unhelpful at best, and affirming of systemic prejudice at worst. Bok is a proponent of strict deadlines for homework assignments, teachers who trust university systems to deal with students who plagiarize, and faculty that demonstrate their commitment to student learning with harsh grading systems, all topics deserving more nuance and critical attention than given in this book. He seems truly out of step with the times when he discusses the potential of higher ed teaching happening through "the videodisc and the Internet" though I'm pretty sure that that DVDs will be about as common in the tools of future professors as vinyl records. He regularly refers to students of color as "minorities." In discussing future job opportunities, he largely ignores the tech sector. He also doesn't adequately address the changes in higher ed populations over the decades and how those changes great influence the needs of students today. For example, he says that students spend no more than 26-28 hours a week on their classes and homework, and suggests that the remaining hours are "too valuable" to be spent entirely on "eating, sleeping, and recreation," as if a large percentage of today's undergraduate students do not spend considerable time working to be able to pay their tuition and meet their basic human needs.
Should Bok write another book, I would encourage him to do so in collaboration with say, a millenial who has just become a college president. I imagine Bok has wisdom that can benefit a new generation of university leadership, but I don't think it was effectively shared here.
I am a career educator and soon to complete a doctorate in education (EdD). On the surface, a book like this should be most useful for people like me, because we often go on to hold leadership positions in colleges and universities. But I found nearly nothing new or uniquely useful in the ideas Bok presents about what students can and should learn in college, the challenges of changing engrained practices and systems of academia, and possible new policies that may lead to improved student learning outcomes, life readiness, and engaged citizenship. He suggests that his ideas might be perceived as "revolutionary" but to me, many of them came across as undeniably incremental and non-disruptive.
I have known educators much older than me who seem to be much more in touch with the experiences, perspectives, and culture of today. In my view, Bok makes many assumptions that are not up to date with what the professional consensus of leading professionals in higher ed learning. I thought the section about the (weakly defined) "conscientiousness" was unhelpful at best, and affirming of systemic prejudice at worst. Bok is a proponent of strict deadlines for homework assignments, teachers who trust university systems to deal with students who plagiarize, and faculty that demonstrate their commitment to student learning with harsh grading systems, all topics deserving more nuance and critical attention than given in this book. He seems truly out of step with the times when he discusses the potential of higher ed teaching happening through "the videodisc and the Internet" though I'm pretty sure that that DVDs will be about as common in the tools of future professors as vinyl records. He regularly refers to students of color as "minorities." In discussing future job opportunities, he largely ignores the tech sector. He also doesn't adequately address the changes in higher ed populations over the decades and how those changes great influence the needs of students today. For example, he says that students spend no more than 26-28 hours a week on their classes and homework, and suggests that the remaining hours are "too valuable" to be spent entirely on "eating, sleeping, and recreation," as if a large percentage of today's undergraduate students do not spend considerable time working to be able to pay their tuition and meet their basic human needs.
Should Bok write another book, I would encourage him to do so in collaboration with say, a millenial who has just become a college president. I imagine Bok has wisdom that can benefit a new generation of university leadership, but I don't think it was effectively shared here.
March 14, 2021
This book speaks to a topic that needs to be addressed. The traditional teaching model colleges and universities adhere to needs to be reformed. However, I found the writing very dry and sometimes it felt like the author was writing for more of an upper level collegiate or bourgeois audience.
March 10, 2025
Some chapters were more interesting than others. Some excellent quotes are well hidden in the book, if you’ll have the patience of digging for them.
Displaying 1 - 7 of 7 reviews