The Need for Educator Agency
By Annie Moses
As NAEYC’s centennial celebrations continue, I am reminded of the power of early childhood educators and their stories of impact, which readers will find embedded in this issue: A second-grade teacher connecting multimodal activities to children’s cultural identities and interests, a pre-K teacher advocating for curriculum continuity across grades in their school, and a first-grade teacher reframing their use of assessment to respond to individual learners.
Each educator was clear about the reasons behind their decisions—how they met important learning goals and were responsive to learners. But to do this kind of work, educators need to be recognized for their expertise, and they need the agency to plan and teach in developmentally appropriate ways.
This issue of Young Children examines what educator agency looks like in action, how it connects to intentionality, and how it benefits everyone in the early childhood ecosystem. Authors identify the ongoing challenges to educator agency, and they also highlight real-life solutions and steps toward equitable, joyful practices.
The cluster opens with “Did You Lose Your Teacher Voice? Reclaiming Educator Agency, Voice, and Choice Through a Critical Lens,” by Brian L. Wright and Mona M. Abo-Zena. Framed by the “What? So What? Now What?” protocol, the authors present key concepts about teacher agency and real-life examples through a critical lens.
Next is an excerpt from a chapter in No Single Story: Amplifying the Voices of Asian American and Native Hawaiian, Pacific Islander Early Educators. This book, edited by Debbie LeeKeenan, Iris Chin Ponte, Caryn Park, and Sandra Baba, will be published this fall by NAEYC. In the excerpt, Nicol Russell writes about “Bringing Your Whole Self to the Classroom: A Native Hawaiian Perspective on Identity in Early Childhood Education,” including the gap between an educator’s cultural knowledge and identity and what is expected or supported in their work.
Sehyun Yun and Leslie La Croix delve into assessment and agency in “Inspiring Teacher Agency: (Re)claiming Assessment as an Advocacy Tool in the Primary Grades.” They outline the constraints felt by educators and describe how educator agency help can ensure that assessments are effective and equitable.
In “The Power of Teacher Agency: Leading from the Classroom,” Amy Schmidtke, Mary Beth Pistillo, and Greta Morris focus on how classroom teachers can make their voices heard in larger school settings. They show how teachers sharpened their leadership skills across a network of school districts, and they share ideas that can be applied in other contexts.
Jason Surian reflects on how a surprise interaction led to intentionally rethinking the curriculum in “When Squirrels Lead the Way: Weaving Intention into Teachable Moments.” Key to this was the author’s agency to respond to children’s questions and interests, make adaptations in plans and materials, and still align with overall learning goals.
Closing out the cluster is “Together We RISE: Tapping Educator Agency to Guide Children’s Social and Emotional Learning.” Sara D. Hooks, Jennifer K. Pett, Janese Daniels, and Nicole Vasanth describe how early childhood educators had the agency to work with each other and families to create a curriculum for children’s social and emotional development. They offer suggestions for approaching this in other settings.
There are many challenges to educator agency, such as rigid expectations and materials for curriculum, teaching, and assessment and a lack of space and supports for teachers to be flexible, responsive, and leaders in their contexts. While it is important to acknowledge these challenges and why they negatively impact educators, children, families, and systems, it is also important to strive for change and elevate where positive change is happening. I hope the real-life voices and stories of agency and intentionality in this issue resonate with what you need and the change you seek in your setting.
—Annie Moses, YC Editor in Chief
Children’s Artwork
Recently, NAEYC’s senior director of publishing and content development, Susan Friedman, visited an early learning program in Dallas, Texas. She noticed the documentation of children’s active engagement and learning throughout the school, including painting with different colors.
Is your classroom full of children’s artwork? To feature it in Young Children, visit NAEYC.org/resources/pubs/authors-photographers/photos or email editorial@NAEYC.org for details.
Photograph: © NAEYC
Copyright © 2026 by the National Association for the Education of Young Children. See permissions and reprints online at NAEYC.org/resources/permissions.