Examining the Concept of Child Agency Within Two Frameworks: "Child as a Social Actor" and the "Theory of the Agentic Human" and Its Educational Implications for Early Childhood Educators
Subject Areas :
1 -
Keywords: agency in childhood, kindergarten teachers, early childhood,
Abstract :
This study explores the concept of child agency, with a particular focus on the preschool stage, through the lenses of two perspectives: the child as a social actor and the theory of human agency. It further draws out educational implications for early childhood educators. The research employs descriptive, analytical, and inferential methods. Traditional adult-centered perspectives regarded the child as incomplete, passive, and incapable of playing a meaningful role in shaping his or her own life. In contrast, recent approaches—especially in sociology—have emphasized the child as a social agent. Each perspective implies a distinct educational stance. Traditional pedagogy involves one-sided shaping, while the child-as-social-actor approach emphasizes mutual interaction. The theory of the acting human being, however, regards early childhood education as preparation for the realization of agency. Educators should therefore foster children’s awareness of consequences (cognitive dimension), support the transformation of impulses into informed inclinations (affective dimension), and gradually enhance self-control and responsible choice-making (volitional dimension).