While children discuss how to include breads sprinkled with sesame seeds given Joan’ s allergy, the school principal, Mr. Kraft, expresses concern about the noise level in Ms. Kimmie’ s classroom. He suggests that students might be better prepared for upcoming standardized tests if they spent more time practicing and working quietly. Ms. Kimmie explains how she intentionally aligns hands-on activities with core learning objectives, which are measured by standardized tests. Attempting to sound supportive, Mr. Kraft says he is confident she can“ get the students back on track.”
Despite her effectiveness and commitment to“ paying it forward,” Ms. Kimmie is now considering leaving her position.
Teacher agency enables educators to intentionally set meaningful goals, identify strategies to achieve them, and link their decisions to student learning outcomes( Cong-Lem 2021). As illustrated in the vignette, Ms. Kimmie is knowledgeable and skilled in early learning but teaches in a school with a leader who does not understand the importance of active, hands-on learning with young children. She is not alone in feeling stripped of her agency; others have reported similar situations( Molla & Nolan 2020). This is a consequence of limitations to teacher agency— feeling deflated and uncertain about how to motivate her students, having lost much of the motivation that once fueled her teaching.
When teachers’ agency is restricted, so too is their ability to honor the cultural wealth of children and families. Prioritizing standardized assessments over community-based knowledge creates epistemic injustice that devalues diverse ways of knowing( Moll et al. 1992). For example, pandemic“ learning loss” discourses focused narrowly on academic skills, ignoring the learning children experienced at home through caregiving, cooking, and nature exploration( Chen & Krieger 2023). Such narratives conceal the deep-rooted and more significant
“ loss”— the failure to utilize families’ funds of knowledge that existed before the pandemic and remain an untapped resource in schools today( Moll et al. 1992; Yosso 2005; Paris 2012; Wright 2022; Robbins & Cipollone 2023).
For example, the“ bread and breakfast” inquiry prompted Ms. Kimmie to more systematically ask students and families about their own baking practices. Children were eager to add items like semolina to their grocery list and explain that almond flour is safe for classmates with gluten sensitivities. Ms. Kimmie invited family and community members to act as“ celebrity chefs” and host bake-offs. Children interviewed them about the differences between yeast and quick breads using baking powder or soda and historic, cultural, religious, and individual reasons for food preferences and restrictions.
Restrictive curricula, assessments, and policies impose psychological costs not only for educators but also children( Au 2011; NAEYC 2022). Even equity-minded teachers encounter ethical dilemmas when they are compelled to administer tests, implement activities and materials, or carry out discipline policies that contradict their knowledge and judgments about developmentally appropriate, equitable practice. For example, Ms. Kimmie watched silently while administering a standardized mathematics assessment that required children to complete decontextualized computations. Some students struggled to solve the problems, even though earlier in the week those same children had accurately and successfully doubled recipes and subtracted serving amounts when classmates were absent.
In particular, teachers of minoritized backgrounds, often motivated to support children from marginalized communities, face unique tensions in this regard, including fear of professional repercussions if they do not comply with unjust, inequitable policies or practices( McKinney de Royston et. al. 2021). They must choose between maintaining authentic relationships with students and risking professional discipline. For example, discipline policies often police the behaviors
12 Young Children
Summer 2026