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Deeply engage all young learners with a sense of agency and belonging
What gives some early childhood classrooms that special “buzz” of learning? How do those educators create the culture of learning for their students, where all children are deeply involved and drive their own learning with curiosity and care? Using her everyday research approach, in the tradition of the pedagogistas of Reggio Emilia, author Lisa Burman observed several special classrooms with children ages three to eight and identified some common threads: engagement, agency, identity, and belonging, which together combine to create a culture of agency.The term agency is widely used, but often misunderstood as “giving children choice.” Agency is far more than this, and the most powerful learning happens when personal agency is connected to community agency: we are only as strong as each other. These connections form the heart of a democratic education: one that values the rights of the child and empowers participation, shared power, respect for diversity, and self-efficacy.
Her framework for supporting a culture of agency has five pillars: Relationships, Rituals for belonging and identity, Language of agency, Environment, and Learning Contexts. Using this framework along with the book's guiding questions and goal-setting tool will help you bring intentionality as you build your classroom culture to support children’s agency and learning.
All over the world, educators are increasingly recognizing the profound importance of agency in the life of the child. While there is much written about agency, there are precious few resources that are immediately accessible and speak directly to teachers. Reading A Culture of Agency feels more like a stimulating conversation with a colleague—one of those conversations that has you immediately wanting to get back into the classroom to put the many ideas into practice. Informed by a rich body of work in the field, combined with her own careful, classroom-based research, this book both validates and stretches the thinking of educators committed to championing the rights of the child.
--Kath Murdoch, Teacher, Author, Education Consultant in Inquiry
In A Culture Agency, Lisa Burman artfully shows teachers how to nurture agency, not only in their students, but also in themselves as teachers. In today’s educational environment that is sometimes overly focused on test scores and standardization, Lisa provides a vision for educational experiences that respect teachers’ and students’ abilities to make important decisions. My greatest hope is this book inspires teachers to make thoughtful decisions themselves, rather than relying on someone, or some program, who has never met their students. This book is a must-read for all educators who care about children as thinkers.
--Matt Glover, consultant and author of Craft and Process Studies
I feel so honored to be asked to write this review for my friend and her wonderful, important book. It is because of Lisa that I first began to reflect on the importance of agency in the lives of children and their teachers. I am grateful for that spark and for all the theoretical and practical knowledge within the pages of A Culture of Agency. Built on relationships, the framework of rituals of belonging and identity, language of agency, environment, and learning contexts can be applied anywhere in the world, to any classroom. Read this book! It will be a transformational experience.
--Dr. Diane Kashin, RECE
Now more than ever, children deserve a sense of control and joy as they learn. At a time when so many choices have been made for them, Lisa Burman invites us to recenter children. A Culture of Agency guides educators and caregivers alike to help communities of young learners build authentic relationships based on curiosity, connection, and self-worth. This timely reminder urges us to examine our intentions around engagement and build a true sense of belonging for children and ourselves.
--Molly Wheeler, Assistant Professor, St. Catherine University's Early Childhood and Montessori Programs in St. Paul, MN
Acknowledgments
Introduction
Danni’s Young Authors
Everyday Research
How This Book Is Organized
Chapter 1 What Is a Culture of Agency?
Belonging and Identity
Engagement and Participation
Self-Efficacy
Democratic Values
Internal Control
Chapter 2 Relationships Are Everything
The Child-Educator Relationship
The Child-Child Relationship
The Educator-Family Relationship
Continuity of Relationships
Continuity of Place
Chapter 3 Rituals of Belonging and Identity
Rituals That Build Group Identity
Rituals That Support Transitions
Rituals That Celebrate Each Other
How Do Rituals Support a Culture of Agency?
Chapter 4 The Language of Agency
Intentional Teaching
Praise versus Encouragement
Brave Learners
Learning to Learn
When Times Get Tough
Nonverbal Language
Chapter 5 The Environment for Agency
The Temporal Environment
The Physical Environment
All-Access Pass
Chapter 6 Contexts for Agency
Complex
Inclusive
Social
Active
Process-Focused
Chapter 7 Educator Agency
Qualities of the Agentive Educator
Conditions for Educator Agency
View of the Educator
Leadership
Navigating Challenges
The Final Word from the Children 99
Appendix Reflection and Goal-Setting Tool
Clarify Your Learning Culture
Relationships
Rituals of Identity and Belonging
Language of Agency
Environments for Agency
Learning Contexts for Agency
References
Index