Negotiating Opportunities
How the Middle Class Secures Advantages in School
Jessica McCrory Calarco
Reviews and Awards
Winner of the 2019 North Central Sociological Association's Scholarly Achievement Award
"The productiveness of Calarco's work in raising fundamental questions is clear. By highlighting the agency of young children in navigating ambiguous social interactions, Negotiating Opportunities should encourage us all to push for accounts of inequality that recognize that mobility projects often entail navigating structural contexts in the absence of clear rules or guidance." -- Michelle Jackson, Stanford University, American Journal of Sociology
"Persistent income inequality in American schools frustrates teachers, principals, parents and policymakers who want to help all children succeed. By revealing the unintended effects of seemingly ordinary exchanges between students and teachers in everyday classrooms, Jessica Calarco deepens our understanding of the challenges we face in creating more equitable outcomes." -Sara Goldrick-Rab, Temple University
"Jessica Calarco's vivid portrayals of classroom life demonstrate that class cultures are as much about strategies as they are about values. Negotiating Opportunities will take its place alongside the very best studies of how social class works." -Aaron M. Pallas, Teachers College, Columbia University
"Vividly written, and offering compelling details, Calarco highlights how working-class children and parents don't want to bother teachers, while middle-class parents coach their children to pester educators for assistance, attention, and accommodation. Not only is this path-breaking book of interest to sociologists, but every educator and parent should read it." -Annette Lareau, University of Pennsylvania
