Agency and the Early Learner

By Monita Sen, PYP Authorization Manager at International Baccalaureate

Education, like any other field is filled with ‘buzzwords’ or what is often referred to as ‘educational jargon’. Agency is one such word that has found increasing popularity in educational literature. My view on jargon is that, as educators, these are the words of our craft – they are single words or phrases that can represent our beliefs and values, our hopes for education and our views that education is essential to making our world a better place. Language gives us the power to express these thoughts and hopes so, when I come across a new ‘buzzword’, I like to take the time to really unpack it and play with the idea until it makes sense to me. 

Agency as a concept seems to captivate teachers and they seem naturally attracted to this idea of voice, choice and ownership in learning. However, many may wonder, how is agency different from independent learning, child-centred education or learners taking action? My study of agency over the past eight years has led me to understand that agency can be viewed as an ‘umbrella’ concept – it overarches many related concepts such as autonomy, self-efficacy, and ultimately power and control, bringing them together as a stance relating to the learner, pedagogy and context.

Let’s explore this concept a little further. Agency can be described as simply the power to take individual action. The OECD (2019) describes student agency as “the capacity to set a goal, reflect and act responsibly to effect change”. Other theorists view agency less as an individual capacity but more as a multi-dimensional phenomenon that cannot be separated from time and context (Biesta & Tedder, 2017). At a theoretical level, the true nature of agency can be debated from different perspectives, however as educators we seek understanding of what agency practically means for us in our classrooms. Agency isn’t a strategy that we implement – it’s not something that we “give” learners, nor is it something that can be taught but it is something that we can support or hinder based on how we design and facilitate learning in our schools; and it is something we should be exploring more in our own practice.

With so many definitions of agency, it’s important that we view these in context of a bigger picture and ask the question – Why agency? In the context of schools providing the International Baccalaureate (IB) Primary Years Programme (PYP) for example, the ‘why’ is provided by the IB mission statement that “aims to develop inquiring, knowledgeable and caring young people who help to create a better and more peaceful world through intercultural understanding and respect.” While individual or learner agency is important, the mission statement points to a higher purpose or what can be referred to as ‘collective agency’ (OECD, 2019). Collective agency encourages us to consider our shared responsibility for a common good. According to the IB, an agentic learner demonstrates the learner profile, a set of ten attributes that embody the mission statement.

How does agency relate to learning in the early years? It all starts with our view of the early learner or what the Reggio philosophy refers to as “the image of the child” (Malaguzzi, 1993). If we view young children as fragile and helpless then it's unlikely that we will be enabling learner agency. Helpfulness is the arch enemy of agency. When we are overly helpful with children in their learning process, we are taking away opportunities for them to discover something for themselves, we are also taking away opportunities for them to develop as independent learners constructing their own meaning. 

The PYP curriculum framework positions young children as agents of their own learning; as capable, curious inquirers who already have their own theories about the world. When we view young learners in this way, our approach to teaching and learning shifts. As teachers, we seek opportunities to support young learners as they question, wonder and test their theories about their world, we provide provocation to help them experience new ideas and we work with their innate sense of curiosity as a motivation for learning. Agency is particularly relevant in the early years as:

“children form their self-concept as soon as they begin to interact with others. This occurs in a wide range of environments, in particular their home environment. Learners bring that self-concept with them to the school learning environment and it evolves further as they begin to interact with adults and peers there.  

Agency underpins learning and teaching in the PYP because it is foundational to self-regulation and leads towards setting goals to direct one’s own learning and teaching. The PYP’s transdisciplinary framework, as well as its focus on play and inquiry, encourages agency in early learning communities. These approaches are responsive to the natural way early learners engage with the world. They do not confine students to learn within a subject-based schedule that is unfamiliar to the developing brain. Having voice, choice and ownership in their own learning journey further influences their sense of self-efficacy.”  The Early Years in the PYP (IB, forthcoming) 

We need to make the discussion on agency front and centre in our schools and engage our broader communities in this dialogue. This includes intentionally seeking ways to:

Honour voice, by:

• Listening (really listening!) to what young learners tell us (not just through their words but also through their actions, expressions, movements and moods)
• Encourage and respect different perspectives
• Acknowledge and value children’s emerging theories and ideas
• Shared decision-making and input in to learning design

Enable choice by:

• Providing multiple pathways and materials
• Encouraging young learners to set goals and reflect on them
• Supporting decision-making (by modelling, suggesting strategies or options)
• Provide choice via the learning environment (this includes making materials accessible so children can demonstrate independent choice)

Promote ownership of learning by:

• Supporting young learners to understand what they are learning and why
• Providing learning opportunities that are relevant
• Support students to understand both failure and success as part of a learning process
• Provide opportunities for students to develop self-confidence, independence
• Work with young learners’ interests and passions
• Support experimentation and testing of their theories

For schools looking to promote agency and develop a learning community that enables and supports agency for everyone, schools need to develop a deeper understanding of the concept of agency and how it can be achieved in each unique context. By examining our own beliefs and past experiences in supporting agency, alongside our larger educational goals, we can make the most of our resources, environments and cultures to ensure we support agency through a shared vision for our young learners.

References

Biesta, G., Priestley, M. and Robinson, S., 2017. Talking about education: exploring the significance of teachers’ talk for teacher agency. Journal of Curriculum Studies, 49(1), pp.38-54.

IBO, 2018. PYP: From principles into practice. Geneva.

IBO, forthcoming in 2021. The early years in the PYP. Geneva

Malaguzzi, L., 1994. Your image of the child: Where teaching begins. Child Care Information Exchange, pp.52-52.

OECD Concept Note at: Student_Agency_for_2030_concept_note.pdf (oecd.org)