Societal trends such as increased accountability, teacher shortages, and flexibility in learning paths affect the work of teacher educators. This study explores the collective agency of Dutch geography teacher educators as they enact the subject pedagogy curriculum within this rapidly changing context. Whilst teacher agency has been widely studied, research on teacher educators—particularly from a collective perspective—remains scarce. Drawing on Priestley et al.'s ecological approach, this study aims to disentangle teacher educators' collective spaces of agency by means of cultural, structural, and material resources. Using focus group interviews with three teams of geography teacher educators, we identified three key challenges that define their collective spaces of agency: (1) accommodating students' developmental phases, (2) gaining insight into students' internship learning, and (3) the growing divide between subject-specific and general teacher education. Thematic analysis revealed that teams of educators experience a different sense of agency in each of these spaces, depending on their ability to draw on the available resources. Our findings show that teams of educators draw on strong subject teacher identities (cultural resources) and experience collective agency when enacting subject pedagogy at the course level (structural resources). Their sense of agency is weak at the institutional level, particularly in relation to curricular change. This study contributes to a more profound understanding of teacher educators' collective spaces of agency. Disentangling these spaces can help teams of teacher educators to identify the necessary resources to restore their sense of agency in difficult times.
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In order to deliver good work, professionals need agency – the ability to act and decide on the course of one’s actions. The agency of professionals in the public sector is however increasingly under pressure. Research suggests that these limitations on the agency of public professionals in turn limit their ability to create and sustain positive outcomes for the people and populations they serve.In this chapter, we discuss findings resulting from a longitudinal bottom-up action research approach in the Dutch education sector. The approach is aimed at strengthening the agency of public professionals, using professional dialogue as a central concept. We present and discuss both the methodology used and the results of that methodology in strengthening the agency of public professionals in 11 teams in 3 educational institutions.The results suggest that there are clear benefits of a tailor-made support for teams of professionals, such as employed in the action research. In varying degrees and dependent on context, this started or accelerated reflection on and improvement in setting goals, cooperation in the team and quality of work, thus at least partly increasing the agency of public professionals in the teams. In varying degrees, the lack of sufficient team and organizational conditions were found to often hinder the development of agency of public professionals.
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Western societies are quickly becoming less coherent (Giddens, 1991). As a result it is increasingly unclear how individuals should act in a range of situations or how they may understand themselves. To a certain extent this development towards more diverse perspectives and a broader range of ways to act is a positive one, as cultures can only develop as they are confronted with different perspectives. A uniform culture would simply reach a standstill. That said, current society now demands of its citizens that they become increasingly self-reliant and by extension develop a capacity to be self-governing. On the labour market self-reliance and self-determination have been considered par for the course even longer. It is no surprise then that terms like self-direction, self-governing teams, employability and resilience are considered part of the standard repertoire of politicians and employers (Van der Heijden & De Vos, 2017). Within the social sciences, an ability to be self-governing and self-reliant are terms that are associated with the concept “agency”. However, the latter is a fairly vague, multidimensional concept (Arthur, 2014) that refers to the ‘scope of action’ an individual has in a fluid society (Bauman, 2000). In this article we would like to explore the concept of ‘agency’ further whereby we focus on the role of imagination in enacting it. https://doi.org/10.1177/1038416218777832 LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/reinekke-lengelle-phd-767a4322/
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Girls Work, as one of the methods used by professional youth work, focuses on helping vulnerable girls to shape their own lives (a capacity also referred to as ‘agency’). In this study, it is hypothesised that the methodical principles (i.e. the guiding principles of the methodical actions of the youth worker) contribute to the empowerment process of girls, which in turn leads to the development of girls’ agency. Serial mediation was used to test this hypothesis. Results indicate that all of the methodical principles, with the exception of the use of context, are important in helping girls develop agency. Four of the methodical principles contribute to both empowerment and agency, while the other methodical principles contribute to agency only through empowerment. This paper also addresses the importance of focusing on the empowerment of girls, as empowerment is positively linked with agency. All of the components of individual empowerment are important when helping girls develop their agency.--Meidenwerk, een specifieke methodiek van het jongerenwerk, richt zich op het ondersteunen van meiden in kwetsbare posities bij het (leren) vormgeven aan hun eigen leven (ook bekend als agency). In dit onderzoek wordt verondersteld dat de methodische principes (uitgangspunten in het methodisch handelen van de jongerenwerkers) bijdragen aan het proces van empowerment, dat op zijn beurt weer leidt tot de ontwikkeling van agency bij meiden. Om dit te toetsen is een mediatie-analyse uitgevoerd. De resultaten wijzen erop dat alle methodische principes, met uitzondering van ‘werken met de omgeving’, bijdragen aan hoe meiden agency ontwikkelen. Vier van de methodische principes dragen bij aan zowel het empowermentproces als de ontwikkeling van agency, terwijl de andere methodische principes alleen via het empowermentproces bijdragen aan de ontwikkeling van agency. Dit artikel wijst op het belang om aandacht te hebben voor de empowerment van meiden in kwetsbare situaties, omdat er een positieve relatie is tussen het empowermentproces en de ontwikkeling van agency. Hierbij is het belangrijk dat er aandacht is voor alle drie de componenten van psychologische empowerment.
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Sustainability transitions are not hindered by technological barriers but above all by the lack of well-qualified people. Educating the next generation of engineers and product designers is therefore more important than ever. However, a traditional widely used model of instruction and evaluation is not sufficient to prepare this next generation for the demands of society. It is appropriate that curricula should be adapted. If necessary, in a disruptive way. The question was how to develop an education module in which students are agents in their learning. In which students decide what and how they will learn, and in which they can prepare for a role in society that is in shock. To propel them in a new direction a disruptive education innovation has been designed and tested. This new method turns the traditional education model upside down. Students and lecturers are transformed in equal partners in aninnovation consultancy firm with a passion for engineering, product design, and with a focus on sustainability transition. Students explore their emotionally intrinsic values that enables them to accomplish great things, to experience meaning in their lives and work, and leads to a significant learning experience.Purpose of this paper is to give individuals and organisations involved in higher education insight into a new method of education based on new values such as student agency, equal partnership, partnership learning communities, significant learning experience, and the strong belief students have the capacity and the willingness to positively influence their own lives and environment
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Het handelen van docententeams heeft grote invloed op de kwaliteit van het onderwijs en het succes van studenten. Toch wordt in het hoger beroepsonderwijs relatief weinig aandacht besteed aan de vraag of en onder welke omstandigheden teams van docenten goed functioneren. In dit artikel worden aan de hand van twee praktijkcases uit een longitudinaal actie-onderzoek de totstandkoming van het handelingsvermogen van teams verkend. We richten ons daarbij op de invloed van de kenmerken van het team zelf en van de organisatiestructuur. We sluiten af met de vraag hoe het vermogen tot handelen van docententeams versterkt kan worden en wat de rol van HRM daarin is.
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This article provides a nano (hyperlocal) view of climate change mitigation by viewing regenerative organizing through the eyes (as well as bodies and senses, etc.) of the households engaged in community-based energy projects. By showing what humans make up for in the largely absent relationship between nature and technology in these projects, we envision an incremental extension of the literature on community-based energy. The radically different contribution we aim to make is a tripartite imbrication that brings in natural agency alongside the human and the technical but specifies precisely how nano (smaller than micro) embodied practices afford mis- and realignments. https://doi.org/10.1177/1086026619886841 LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/helenkopnina/
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For many EU citizens, working across the border is the only way to make a living in the EU. The battle for cheap labour has now become a well-oiled machine, in which almost all Western European countries participate. Nevertheless, the employment situation of EU Mobile Citizens, workers of low-skilled and -paid jobs, is often substandard. Challenges are housing, health care and working conditions. In addition, due to the lack of registration in municipalities, it is impossible to have an overview of the numbers and to offer effective help. This is a problem in small to medium-sized cities, where many workers live to work in agriculture, transport, construction, meat industry and logistics. For this study, 32 interviews were conducted in eleven small to medium-sized towns (SMSTs) in Sweden, Germany, the Netherlands, Ireland, Poland, and Spain. The study uses three different perspectives: EU representatives of participating regions, municipalities, and employers. The outcomes show that most SMSTs deal with a shortage of housing, and a lack of grip on the registration process of EU citizens. Although there are some success stories, most SMSTs are not in touch with each other to share these. The paper concludes with proposals for further action-research and collaborations to impact local policies.
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This paper is a summary paper of the Thematic Working Group (TWG) on Adult Mathematics Education (AME). The theme AME made its first appearance on CERME11 and in this paper we provide an overview of the growing and blossoming field of AME and the results of the working group. The main themes associated with AME are: the definition, scope, and assessment of numeracy, the role of language and dialogue, the role of affect, including motivation, and the role of societal power structures, including subthemes like equity, inclusion, vulnerable learners, agency and self-efficacy. We conclude with the opportunities and challenges for this theme from both scientific and societal perspective.
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A good working relationship between clients and professionals increases the chances of better intervention outcomes for clients. A longitudinal cohort study was carried out amongst clients who were in touch with professionals from a Dutch social street work (SSW) organisation. We used a questionnaire to examine client perspectives (n = 332) on the relational and goal-oriented part of the working relationship after a minimum of 8 months of contact with SSW. We furthermore examined to what extent both parts of the working relationship were influenced by client characteristics and SSW metrics. Clients were asked to reflect on the relational part and the goal-oriented part of the working relationship. Clients who only met SSW professionals in public areas perceived a weaker working relationship in both aspects. A stronger relational and goal-oriented working relationship was perceived when receiving more practical support. Clients who had been in contact with an SSW professional for a long period of time perceived a weaker goal-oriented working relationship. This study shows that a working relationship, with both relational and goal-oriented aspects, can be established between workers and marginalised people in their daily environment. Frequent contact and providing practical support can improve both parts of the working relationship. Please refer to the Supplementary Material section to find this article's Community and Social Impact Statement.
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