In the Age of "Student Agency", How Does "Teacher Agency" Come in to Play?

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New year, new thoughts...well not really.  I've actually been dwelling on the buzzword, "agency", floating around the PYP Twitter-sphere over the last year and decided to take the opportunity to think about "agency" not just as it relates to students, but also as it relates to teachers.

Emphasizing student capacity to choose, act and decide seems foundational to education and lifelong learning.  I love that related topics like "play", "growth mindset" and "voice" are getting more attention beyond early childhood education.  I am excited for the opportunities students are getting to discover themselves by having time to make mistakes, collaborate, and make authentic, personal connections to their learning.  I welcome "agency" as a buzzword and hope it doesn't fade with the educational trends of the future.

So there's no doubt that I can get behind "agency" and am seeing some great successes and failures from educators around the world.  But what about teacher agency?  It seems natural that with student agency being such a hot topic, we should also expect to see and hear more about teacher agency...that's what interests me in 2019.  For example:

  • Do teachers who are promoting student agency feel that there is a parallel in their school with teacher agency?
  • In what ways are teachers feeling empowered to take control, change, make mistakes and play with their students, learning environments, curriculum, assessments, and teaching practices?
  • How are schools/administrative teams supporting teacher agency by questioning preconceived notions of structure and space within the school day?  
  • What is the difference between the intended autonomy of student-centered programs and actual autonomy?
  • How do schools promote teacher agency in their frameworks of professional development?

Just some things I'm mulling over and would love to hear more about.  Send me a message or links if you have any insights.

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