Chapter 14: Agency and Choice in Two Second-Grade Classrooms

In re/turning to the classroom with an eye toward social justice and a commitment to praxis, the concepts of agency and choice naturally arise. A classroom that values teacher and student agency is one that includes the voices of all classroom participants, respects their backgrounds and experiences, and encourages them to make changes that will affect their environment. Many schools and classrooms in today’s society, however, are not designed for social change, as students and teachers are often placed in adversarial relationships (R. Smith, 2009). District leaders expect teachers to “control” their students and pass on a specific set of knowledge; both student and teacher freedoms are encroached upon. In contrast, when teachers and students respect each other as individuals with the rights to make their own choices, classroom participants have control of their teaching and learning.