means to act on their behalf, achieving desired outcomes. Mr. Omar can use proxy agency to advocate to administrators like Ms. Spade, who can then use her sphere of influence to support teaching content in a manner that is culturally responsive, responsible, and relevant to the children in his classroom.
› Collective agency is when educators unite to combine their knowledge, skills, and resources, creating a powerful force that shapes teaching and learning. When teachers exert their collective agency, the school is responsive to children’ s social, cultural, and personal identities by using various methods to maximize opportunities to learn. It empowers students to exercise their own agency to understand their cultural worlds and solve problems within their communities, connecting curricular content to their funds of knowledge.
Teacher Agency Through a Critical Lens
Each form of agency plays a valuable role in how educators can effect change in schools and classrooms( Priestley et al. 2015). Notably, the concept and practice of agency are not unfettered, or free from restraints or inhibitions. They require intentional preparation and critical reflection, including recognizing and addressing issues of equity and imbalanced power structures that shape teaching, learning, and decision-making practices in schools when educators apply a critical lens to their work( Freire 1993; Ladson-Billings 2009).
This may involve acts of subversion, which we refer to as the ability to strategically apply judgment, make informed decisions, and act within a given context, thereby providing equitable practices for all children( Givens 2021). At times, these acts have inequitably distributed risks and costs for educators who navigate restrictive policies and prescribed curricular expectations( Priestley et al. 2015). For example, Mr. Omar’ s decision to introduce a lesson centered on belonging through culturally relevant texts reflected his professional judgment and commitment to equitable learning opportunities, even as institutional constraints ultimately required him to abandon that plan in favor of a scripted lesson drawn directly from the prescribed curriculum.
While teacher agency holds great promise for creating caring, equitable learning spaces, we also recognize that agency can be exercised in divergent ways. Some educators may choose to use their agency in ways that resist or even undermine equity-oriented goals and practices. Importantly, we do not advocate permitting uncritical practice under the guise of agency. Applying a critical lens must be intentionally developed in and with educators( Muller et al. 2022), such as through collaborative norms and equity-centered professional learning communities and supports to help ensure that agency is exercised in ways that affirm all children’ s identities and communities. These collective processes fulfill several functions, including fostering intentional practices that
Summer 2026 Young Children 9