Chapter 7: The Dialogic Construction of Agency in Classroom Communities

Recently, the importance of understanding the social and cultural processes mediating students’ agency development has been increasingly recognized (Davydov, Slobodchikov, & Tsukerman, 2003; Edwards, 2005; Edwards & D’Arcy, 2004; Engle & Faux, 2006; Zuckerman, 2007). The basic idea of agency is that individuals should not merely react to and repeat given practices. Instead, every individual should have the capacity for autonomous social action and, thereby, take control of their lives. Agency can be defined as the capacity to initiate purposeful action that implies will, autonomy, freedom, and choice (Bandura, 1989; Biesta & Tedder, 2007; Ecclestone, 2007; Edwards, & D’Arcy, 2004; Emirbayer & Mische, 1998; Engeström, 2005; Greeno, 2006; Holland, Lachicotte, Skinner, & Cain, 1998).