The students at the author's alternative, academic-recovery school come from their base schools and at the author's school are able to rewrite their own school stories. Some of that rewriting naturally happens in the library. Many of the students have experiences at multiple schools, but it is not until they come to the author's school that many…

When student agency is amplified by the integration of modern technologies, students have great potential to solve real-world problems and learn in a deep and engaging way. And yet often schools are hesitant to provide students with true agency. Richardson looks at some powerful student projects and inventions that were possible through agency and…

In many social science college courses, professors cover a wide variety of topics that may act as triggers for victims of trauma in both traditional and online courses. At the same time, we may also encounter students who suffer trauma during their college experience. The purpose of this paper is to emphasize the importance of creating a safe and…

As pandemic lockdowns creep onwards to the end of 2020 many of my higher education students have become disempowered and despondent. In a bid to revive their agency and resilience a postgraduate class was offered this essay for critique. Karma is examined from contemporary understandings, and historical, and spiritual contexts, including some…

Students around the world have led protests over inaction on climate change. They have done this through 'climate change strikes'. These actions raise larger questions about young people's perception of the relevance of schooling to their concerns. What should and could be the response of schools? What would it take for students to recognise that…

This article seeks to challenge existing power dynamics both within the service-learning classroom and between the classroom and community by offering a model of an alternative approach to community engagement. The class partnered with a community organization, at their request, to engage their community as the organization worked through a change…

For students to feel empowered in their learning, they must understand the language, purpose, and goals of assessment. Dueck argues that students need to understand what they are supposed to be learning and determine whether they actually learned it. Clear objectives and cooperative assessments can help with these objectives.

With increasing expectations on students regarding written communication, the promotion of student agency in writing is more important now than ever. Teachers must find ways to engage and empower all learners throughout the writing process so they can produce authentic and meaningful writing independently. To promote such agency, educators must…

A diverse democracy brings together people whose differences include partisan leanings, life experiences, histories, religious beliefs, racial identities, and sexual orientations to address common problems and build a shared future. Social studies educators can help prepare youth to pursue this goal by advancing core commitments to respectful and…

Get Smart Fast about the benefits of supporting student and staff well-being! Prioritizing well-being in schools creates environments where everyone feels valued and supported, which leads to better educational outcomes and a healthier, more supportive community. This infographic provides strategies, examples, and resources to effectively support…

Lyn Mikel Brown and Jenny Flaumenhaft describe the use of student-centered principles to engage in curricular reform in an under-resourced rural elementary school. With a specific focus on student empowerment and self-determination, and in collaboration with students and teachers, Transforming Rural Experience in Education (TREE) integrated…

Educators need to be wary of stifling imagination and creative thinking in our youngest learners. Education scholar Fang Gao discusses how it's not always about getting to the technically right answer, but allowing young learners to explore creative ways of thinking. She offers three ways to nurture this creativity.

The literature on student agency is missing the voice and perspectives of teachers. Although theoretical and empirical research aims to explore student agency by observing and documenting the structures and supports involved in fostering agency, the field knows little of what student agency means to teachers who currently teach and who have…

This document highlights major points detailed in the the full report, "Towards an Equal Future: Reimagining Girls' Education through STEM." The following questions are addressed: (1) How is the learning crisis affecting girls? (2) Why is STEM learning so important for girls? (3) What are the gender disparities in STEM education? (4) Why…

Widespread global interest and adoption of deliberative democracy approaches to reinvigorate citizenship and policymaking in an era of democratic crisis/decline has been mirrored by increasing interest in deliberation in schools, both as an approach to pedagogy and student empowerment and as a training ground for deliberative citizenship. In…