Learner Agency - when does it stop?

We are born with 'learner agency'. No one would question the intense learning all babies work through; learning to walk, communicate and keep themselves safe. When we are learning these important skills we are very much independent; a parent does not set up a 'walking timetable' with weekly 'check-ins' and monthly 'assessments'. Rather, the job of the parent is to provide opportunities (like a trolley or pram to push) encouragement and a safe environment to practise in. The child is in control of this learning. They self-regulate, making independent choices. Children and (most) parents are not phased by whether others are walking or not, it is a matter of when, not if.

Moving forward to pre-school years and learner agency is still dominant. New Zealand ECE's are set up with student choice in mind, the teachers support learners to make independent choices and follow their passions. In the pre-school years, learners have the power to act and are actively involved in their learning. The teachers are creating a safe environment for learners to explore. I have never seen a student sitting on the floor saying 'they do not know what to do' at an ECE.

When students enter school the great work of parents and ECEs can become unstuck. I question the idea that schools need to 'support' students to being agents of their learning, they have done nothing but that right through to the day they started school. Sadly when students start school their agency is frequently taking away from them through teachers taking ownership of the learning, telling students what they need to learn and when. 

Here are 5 ways in which students can keep retain their agency when they enter their formative school years.

1. High Expectations. Four year olds think of themselves as undestructable. They dream big and persevere. Much like a Year 13 student at High School, 4 year olds stroll the grounds of their 'campus' with confidence, helping, questioning their peers and teachers and making independent choices. When they hit school they are so little in comparison to others that we seem to have an intrinsic need to 'mother them'.  Sure, we need to help them transition in, but we need to maintain high expectations of how independent they are.
2. Better ECE/School links. Spending time in ECE's always shows how our young tamariki are so independent. It is pretty crazy to think most New Entrant teachers get no or very little time observing their new students in action at ECE's. The more school teachers see of ECE's, the higher their expectations will be.
3. Focus on 'yet'. It is difficult not to have national standards at the fore-front of our decision making. Until children get to school there is a universal understanding that different kids have different strengths; some kids can swing on monkey bars, some can write their name. Both will learn to do the other, in their own time. But when we reach 5 the assumption switches to all students needing to learn at the same rate. In the right environment all students will learn to read and write, it just may be they cannot 'yet'.
4. Control. Students quickly learn that teachers are in charge at school and that they will get praised for doing exactly what the teachers asks them. I believe students, especially younger students, spend alot of their thinking resources into understanding what teachers want from them, rather than thinking about what they need to do. Students are praised for their quick responses to teacher commands rather than their independent action. Teachers need to 'flatten the hierarchy' and emphasise the importance of our students own active choices over passive responses to teachers .
5. Decision Making. No one learns to make good decisions by having decision made for them. Like a busy parent who makes lunch for the kids because it is quicker and easier than having the child make it themselves, we are often time poor and find it easier to tell students what to do rather than allowing them the time to think for themselves. It should be a 'quality over quantity' approach when it comes to learning to learn.

By the time learners are 10, they have been at school half of their lives and can be 'institutionalised' to the school system. For some learners, the idea of having the power to act is scary as we have taken it away from them. Let's make sure we never remove it in the first place.