Children’s Agency Through Writing in Elementary Classrooms

Through a qualitative, collective case study design, the study investigated children’s demonstration of agency in composing writing projects in three elementary classrooms within one school. Researchers conducted interviews with the teachers, observed classroom writing instruction, interviewed children individually or in small focus groups, and collected student texts. The findings demonstrate how the curriculum, which supported choice and expression of student voice, shaped students’ responses in unique ways. Across classrooms students found ways to embed their out-of-school experiences within their writing and express their linguistic identities and cultures. The shared philosophy of the school using a Reggio-Emilia inspired model of instruction supported the argument that agency is relational and mediated through the ways in which people use tools within their social settings. Implications for practice include building community, providing choices within and across genres, and encouraging children to use their full linguistic resources to support student agency.