By Dennis Sale
What is agency?
The term agency has gained increasing attention as educators and researchers emphasise the importance of providing students with a greater sense of ownership and competence in their learning journeys. Equally, agency has relevance to anyone who seeks to become more self-directed, confident, and be able to adapt to the challenges of a volatile, uncertain, complex and ambiguous world. There is no running away from the fact that, for most people, there is a need for a mindset that facilitates the capabilities for lifelong learning, personal responsibility and resilience.
In this context, agency is typically framed as the capacity for individuals to take control over their actions and learning. At the psychological level this involves a mindset whereby individuals feel autonomous and competent to make positive choices and enact effective behaviour to meet desired life goals. In educational institutions this translates into students’ taking more responsibility and empowerment to direct their own learning, setting personal goals, and actively engaging in shaping their educational experiences. To illustrate, students who are “agentic” will typically engage more frequently in the following behaviours to enhance their learning opportunities:
- Asking more and better questions in class.
- Communicating their learning needs and wants to teachers.
- Identifying what is needed to meet the learning outcomes for their school courses.
- Maintaining a mindset that they can achieve their goals with sustained effort and accessing needed resources.
- Monitoring and evaluating their learning progress and making improvements when and where necessary.
- Using resources that can enhance aspects of the learning process (e.g., learning strategies, techniques, and tools – especially AI agents).
- Actively seeking feedback from a range of sources (teachers, peers, friends, and anyone who might know how to help them meet learning goals).
Developing Agency in schools: Implication for Educators
In previous columns, I have outlined some of the major changes that are rapidly changing the educational landscape, especially artificial intelligence agents and a school curriculum that needs systematic reframing in both content and pedagogy. Subject content is now available in multiple and multi-media formats, and students who master the learning process can become agentic learners independently. To support this changing scenario, teachers will need to adopt a more facilitative style of teaching to help students become self-directed and able to increasingly take responsibility for their academic outcomes. Reeve (2015) referred to such a teacher style as autonomy supporting (AS), which he defined as:
…a coherent cluster of teacher-provided instructional behaviours that collectively communicate to students an interpersonal tone of support and understanding, such as “I am your ally; I am here to support you and your strivings.”
Behaviours conducive to establishing this “interpersonal tone of support and understanding” include:
- Using informational, non-controlling language.
- Communicating the purpose/value of the learning (e.g., explanatory rationales).
- Acknowledging and accepting students’ expressions of negative effect
- Listening to students and encouraging them to ask questions
- Allowing students choices/ preferences wherever possible on how they learn and the context of learning.
This approach does not mean that students can do what they like. There is an old saying in teaching circles that “discipline must precede instruction”. The AS approach has a clear structure but also recognises that students are more likely to buy into an educational process that they see as meaningful and related to their lives outside school, as well as being more intrinsically motivating. Of course, students must learn and accept that much of school learning may not be immediately interesting – but is necessary. It is easier for students to accept such learning if they see purpose, it is managed with good teaching and learning methods, and with some fun – that’s creative teaching!
Potential benefits of agency
Research in neuroscience suggests that students learn better when they are actively engaged and motivated. Autonomy and agency are key components of creating a stimulating and engaging learning environment. For example, Deci, Vallerand, Pelletier & Ryan, 1991, reported that:
Students in classrooms with autonomy-supportive teachers displayed more intrinsic motivation, perceived competence, and self-esteem than did students in classrooms with controlling teachers.
The rise of personalised learning, especially with the rapid emergence of artificial intelligence agents, has created an educational landscape that can now meet individual student needs and preferences. Agency is an integral and viable capability as it creates opportunities for students to choose their own path and pace of learning and become fully self-regulated. Furthermore, as we are increasingly recognising the importance of teaching 21st century skills (e.g., critical thinking, problem solving, and collaboration), agency supports the development of these skills by allowing students to make decisions and be accountable for their learning.
The importance of agency is not confined to the young and school-based learning, but for all adults seeking to thrive and make progress in their work and life projects. Agency enables people to proactively take control in their lives – try to make things happen for them; not just let life events and challenges happen to them. Agentic people are more confident in finding solutions to life’s challenges, feel they have more control over their lives and, consequently, tend to experience lower levels of stress and anxiety. This is because individuals who feel they can positively influence their circumstances are less likely to feel overwhelmed or helpless.
In summary, experiencing the positive results of agentic behaviour can significantly boost self-esteem and self-efficacy, which are protective factors against mental-health issues. When people believe that they can effectively navigate life challenges, it’s easier to find the resilience and persistence that is needed, as well as develop better problem-solving capability. It is not surprising that the development of agency has become a salient educational focus, as the failure of our youngsters to develop this mindset and underpinning skill sets, may not bode well for many. Finally, just a reflective point, this is around my 90th column in JEP. Remember, I do invite feedback and new areas for me to address from an evidence-based approach. I can be contacted at dennis@masterlearning.net.
Dennis Sale worked in the Singapore education system for 25 years as advisor, researcher and examiner. He coached over 15,000 teaching professionals and provided 100+ consultancies in the Asian region. Dennis is author of the books Creative Teachers: Self-directed Learners (Springer 2020) and Creative Teaching: An Evidence-Based Approach (Springer, 2015). To contact Dennis, visit dennissale.com.
