Think You’re Supporting Children’s Voices?

Introduction

We all know how it is to be an educator. One word that connects us all across the continent in that line of work is: stress. We are busy people, who need to have their eyes all over their heads. We rush so often throughout the day. We need to cook, clean, change nappies, cuddle, go outside (which means help out with getting dressed), and the list goes on. We make thousands of decisions, considering so many variables. But here’s the question: are all those decisions really ours to make?

Agency

As it happens, making decisions about our own body, own needs is a basic human need. Making choices about the food we eat or our personal hygiene are basic human needs, we all strive to meet. Going beyond that, we all, every single person, no matter what age, are influencing the social environment we are in. The actions we take, the conversations we have, influences the world around us. This phenomenon is agency. Every single person has an agency. And it depends on our autonomy or on our experiences on how we will exercise the agency.

Photo by Naomi Shi.

Let me explain: If children are taught to obey, to follow the lead of an adult, to never question, never step out of line, never learn how to make decisions, they do not have enough autonomy to exercise their own agency. To recognize that they have one!

Having this possibility is important on so many levels. From developing confidence in oneself, supporting one's own well-being, exploring the power of one’s own voice and the voice of a collective, to outcomes in learning and gaining first experiences of democracy. 

What it means for educators

I am often told: “I do not have time to discuss things all day long”. Or: “I cannot fulfill every wish”. Of course it is not possible. And children need to learn that sometimes things do not go the way we would like them to be, it is how life sometimes is. These experiences are also important in developing resilience. However, there are many areas of daily life, which we can open to more autonomy and agency of each child. I recommend to every educator to reflect at least once a year on their own practice, to recognise their own strengths and areas for improvement.

Photo by Ksenia Chernaya

To support you in that I developed the Agency and Participation Quiz and a short Checklist. You can see where you stand and get concrete next steps for supporting children’s agency. If you are wondering how well you support children’s agency, take the QUIZ today and share it with your colleagues!

Children notice when their voices truly matter. Let’s make sure they always do.