{"id":3869,"date":"2018-11-27T09:32:28","date_gmt":"2018-11-27T14:32:28","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/cehhs.utk.edu\/elc\/?p=3869"},"modified":"2024-09-20T20:41:53","modified_gmt":"2024-09-21T00:41:53","slug":"__trashed","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/cehhs.utk.edu\/elc\/2018\/11\/27\/__trashed\/","title":{"rendered":"Independence and Agency"},"content":{"rendered":"

This is a guest post by former practicum student Madison Kofoed. The voices our students lend to our learning community are invaluable and we are excited to share Madison’s thought process in coming to understand the complexity of independence and agency in older toddlers. <\/p>\n

\"\"It is important to first understand the meanings of both independence and agency. The Merriam-Webster dictionary defines independence as, \u201cnot subject to control by others, not requiring or relying on someone else, and not looking to others for one\u2019s opinions or for guidance in conduct.\u201d Agency goes a step further and is defined by Webster\u2019s dictionary as, \u201cthe capacity, condition, or state of acting or of exerting power.\u201d\u00a0 In terms of early childhood, we can think about agency as the level of control, autonomy, and power that children have in their daily lives.<\/p>\n

When I think of the word\u00a0independent<\/em>, my mind often takes me to an extreme definition- living, working, and taking care of one\u2019s self and relying solely on one\u2019s own effort to get by and meet proper survival needs. While this is a form of independence, there is a gradual process of gaining independence. It does not happen quickly and young children should not be expected to function independently all at once.\u00a0 An article published in\u00a0Early Childhood Australia<\/em>\u00a0describes a child\u2019s road to independence as becoming \u201cmore able to do things for themselves, to express themselves, and to explore their world independently\u201d (Touhill, L, 2013). This process can include things such as putting on their socks and shoes, getting dressed, using the toilet, and completing simple chores.<\/p>\n

Agency? I have recently gained a new understanding of incorporating this word into my daily practice of interacting and learning with children. I once knew it to be making one\u2019s own free choices. However, my eyes have been opened and I have learned how to set aside my personal influence on events and am focused more on recognizing a child\u2019s sense of agency. Their sense of agency is crucial to their development. \u201cSupporting agency involves educators taking a step back and critically reflecting on, \u2018Do I need to decide for children?\u2019\u201d (Supporting Agency, 2016).<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

How can one provide opportunities for children to make decisions on their own and have an impact on their environment? \u201cConsider ways of setting up environments, routines, and learning experiences that support children to make decisions independent of adults.\u201d (Supporting Agency, 2016). Allow the children to think for themselves.<\/p>\n

When we are born, we are in our most dependent state of life. Why is it important to move away from dependency? Beyond self-esteem and a sense of achievement, being independent is a key ingredient in learning information and helps one become a competent member of society. Moving away from dependency also allows the child to \u201cdevelop a sense of themselves as individuals\u2014withtheir own skills, strengths, likes, and dislikes\u201d (Touhill, L, 2013). This is beneficial for teachers as well.<\/p>\n

How do these concepts play a role in the classroom and curriculum?\u00a0<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

Throughout this semester and getting deeper into project work with the children, I\u00a0have been careful to leave room for the children to direct lessons I present. One responsibility that we as teachers have to children during the early childhood years is to make sure that we are \u201cproviding them with opportunities to develop the confidence to explore their world, to ask questions, to express ideas, to get things right, but also to understand that you can be wrong and learn from mistakes\u201d (Touhill, L, 2013).<\/p>\n

Reflecting on our investigation of trains thus far, the children have truly helped to guide my decisions about what provocations to offer next and how to move forward. Through their dramatic play, construction, and peer discussions, their love for trains has been observable on a daily basis. As we have moved through the investigation the children have enjoyed exploring through: construction, images, personal stories, walking trips, and now are moving in the direction of large-scale construction and representing their ideas in ways that more thoroughly support their learning and development. In order to establish ownership for the children during this\u00a0representation phase, I have met with each child, carefully listened to their ideas, and respected their thoughts to get a list of materials they feel like would be useful in the construction of their train.\u00a0 These intentional decisions in how their ideas are being acknowledged and valued have hopefully begun to help them develop a sense of agency in the curriculum planning.<\/p>\n

I have been made humble to the idea that my role as an educator \u201cis to help children develop the decision-making skills needed to make good choices, to help them to recognize the options that are available, and to recognize the responsibilities that come with particular preferences, while being a member of a group\u201d (Touhill, L, 2013). This means that I must give them tools, physical and emotional space, and time to express their ideas and goals rather than getting caught up in my own agenda.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

How can these concepts be supported at home?<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n

Sometimes days can be rushed and simply doing things for a young child can be\u00a0easier. However, this is not supportive of the growth and development of a child.<\/p>\n

\u201cAllowing children to make choices for themselves is an important yet relatively easy step towards encouraging independence and agency\u201d (Touhill, L, 2013). If a child shows interest in getting themselves dressed, helping complete chores, cooking in the kitchen, or carrying heavy materials; shutting them down or not allowing them time to learn or act is hindering them. It is both defeating and belittling.<\/p>\n

Listening to and acknowledging a child\u2019s questions and interests is a great way of supporting the development of independence and agency at home. Allow children to make choices, have a voice, and engage in real tasks; you\u2019ll be left in awe of how competent and determined young children truly are.<\/p>\n

Sources:<\/em>
\nTouhill, L. (2013). Promoting independence and agency. Early Childhood Australia, (64). SUPPORTING AGENCY: INVOLVING CHILDREN IN DECISION MAKING. (2016).\u00a0Australian Children’s Education & Care Quality Authority<\/em><\/h6>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

It is important to first understand the meanings of both independence and agency. The Merriam-Webster dictionary defines independence as, \u201cnot […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":113,"featured_media":4010,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":true,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[5,95],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-3869","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-blog-4","category-featured"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"\nIndependence and Agency - Early Learning Center for Research and Practice<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/cehhs.utk.edu\/elc\/2018\/11\/27\/__trashed\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Independence and Agency - Early Learning Center for Research and Practice\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"It is important to first understand the meanings of both independence and agency. The Merriam-Webster dictionary defines independence as, \u201cnot […]\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/cehhs.utk.edu\/elc\/2018\/11\/27\/__trashed\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Early Learning Center for Research and Practice\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2018-11-27T14:32:28+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:modified_time\" content=\"2024-09-21T00:41:53+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/cehhs.utk.edu\/elc\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/12\/2018\/11\/IMG_7214-e1623359820569.jpg\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:width\" content=\"600\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:height\" content=\"450\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:type\" content=\"image\/jpeg\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"Dani Thibus\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"Dani Thibus\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"5 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\\\/\\\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"Article\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/cehhs.utk.edu\\\/elc\\\/2018\\\/11\\\/27\\\/__trashed\\\/#article\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/cehhs.utk.edu\\\/elc\\\/2018\\\/11\\\/27\\\/__trashed\\\/\"},\"author\":{\"name\":\"Dani Thibus\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/cehhs.utk.edu\\\/elc\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/768615de79d509588f49249742d9ef69\"},\"headline\":\"Independence and Agency\",\"datePublished\":\"2018-11-27T14:32:28+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2024-09-21T00:41:53+00:00\",\"mainEntityOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/cehhs.utk.edu\\\/elc\\\/2018\\\/11\\\/27\\\/__trashed\\\/\"},\"wordCount\":1017,\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/cehhs.utk.edu\\\/elc\\\/2018\\\/11\\\/27\\\/__trashed\\\/#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/cehhs.utk.edu\\\/elc\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/sites\\\/12\\\/2018\\\/11\\\/IMG_7214-e1623359820569.jpg\",\"articleSection\":[\"ELC Blog\",\"Featured\"],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"},{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/cehhs.utk.edu\\\/elc\\\/2018\\\/11\\\/27\\\/__trashed\\\/\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/cehhs.utk.edu\\\/elc\\\/2018\\\/11\\\/27\\\/__trashed\\\/\",\"name\":\"Independence and Agency - Early Learning Center for Research and Practice\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/cehhs.utk.edu\\\/elc\\\/#website\"},\"primaryImageOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/cehhs.utk.edu\\\/elc\\\/2018\\\/11\\\/27\\\/__trashed\\\/#primaryimage\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/cehhs.utk.edu\\\/elc\\\/2018\\\/11\\\/27\\\/__trashed\\\/#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/cehhs.utk.edu\\\/elc\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/sites\\\/12\\\/2018\\\/11\\\/IMG_7214-e1623359820569.jpg\",\"datePublished\":\"2018-11-27T14:32:28+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2024-09-21T00:41:53+00:00\",\"author\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/cehhs.utk.edu\\\/elc\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/768615de79d509588f49249742d9ef69\"},\"breadcrumb\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/cehhs.utk.edu\\\/elc\\\/2018\\\/11\\\/27\\\/__trashed\\\/#breadcrumb\"},\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"ReadAction\",\"target\":[\"https:\\\/\\\/cehhs.utk.edu\\\/elc\\\/2018\\\/11\\\/27\\\/__trashed\\\/\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/cehhs.utk.edu\\\/elc\\\/2018\\\/11\\\/27\\\/__trashed\\\/#primaryimage\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/cehhs.utk.edu\\\/elc\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/sites\\\/12\\\/2018\\\/11\\\/IMG_7214-e1623359820569.jpg\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/cehhs.utk.edu\\\/elc\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/sites\\\/12\\\/2018\\\/11\\\/IMG_7214-e1623359820569.jpg\",\"width\":600,\"height\":450,\"caption\":\"young toddlers set the table for lunch\"},{\"@type\":\"BreadcrumbList\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/cehhs.utk.edu\\\/elc\\\/2018\\\/11\\\/27\\\/__trashed\\\/#breadcrumb\",\"itemListElement\":[{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":1,\"name\":\"Home\",\"item\":\"https:\\\/\\\/cehhs.utk.edu\\\/elc\\\/\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":2,\"name\":\"Independence and Agency\"}]},{\"@type\":\"WebSite\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/cehhs.utk.edu\\\/elc\\\/#website\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/cehhs.utk.edu\\\/elc\\\/\",\"name\":\"Early Learning Center for Research and Practice\",\"description\":\"University of Tennessee, Knoxville\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"SearchAction\",\"target\":{\"@type\":\"EntryPoint\",\"urlTemplate\":\"https:\\\/\\\/cehhs.utk.edu\\\/elc\\\/?s={search_term_string}\"},\"query-input\":{\"@type\":\"PropertyValueSpecification\",\"valueRequired\":true,\"valueName\":\"search_term_string\"}}],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"},{\"@type\":\"Person\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/cehhs.utk.edu\\\/elc\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/768615de79d509588f49249742d9ef69\",\"name\":\"Dani Thibus\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/cehhs.utk.edu\\\/elc\\\/author\\\/drose\\\/\"}]}<\/script>\n<!-- \/ Yoast SEO plugin. -->","yoast_head_json":{"title":"Independence and Agency - Early Learning Center for Research and Practice","robots":{"index":"index","follow":"follow","max-snippet":"max-snippet:-1","max-image-preview":"max-image-preview:large","max-video-preview":"max-video-preview:-1"},"canonical":"https:\/\/cehhs.utk.edu\/elc\/2018\/11\/27\/__trashed\/","og_locale":"en_US","og_type":"article","og_title":"Independence and Agency - Early Learning Center for Research and Practice","og_description":"It is important to first understand the meanings of both independence and agency. The Merriam-Webster dictionary defines independence as, \u201cnot […]","og_url":"https:\/\/cehhs.utk.edu\/elc\/2018\/11\/27\/__trashed\/","og_site_name":"Early Learning Center for Research and Practice","article_published_time":"2018-11-27T14:32:28+00:00","article_modified_time":"2024-09-21T00:41:53+00:00","og_image":[{"width":600,"height":450,"url":"https:\/\/cehhs.utk.edu\/elc\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/12\/2018\/11\/IMG_7214-e1623359820569.jpg","type":"image\/jpeg"}],"author":"Dani Thibus","twitter_card":"summary_large_image","twitter_misc":{"Written by":"Dani Thibus","Est. reading time":"5 minutes"},"schema":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"Article","@id":"https:\/\/cehhs.utk.edu\/elc\/2018\/11\/27\/__trashed\/#article","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/cehhs.utk.edu\/elc\/2018\/11\/27\/__trashed\/"},"author":{"name":"Dani Thibus","@id":"https:\/\/cehhs.utk.edu\/elc\/#\/schema\/person\/768615de79d509588f49249742d9ef69"},"headline":"Independence and Agency","datePublished":"2018-11-27T14:32:28+00:00","dateModified":"2024-09-21T00:41:53+00:00","mainEntityOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/cehhs.utk.edu\/elc\/2018\/11\/27\/__trashed\/"},"wordCount":1017,"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/cehhs.utk.edu\/elc\/2018\/11\/27\/__trashed\/#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/cehhs.utk.edu\/elc\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/12\/2018\/11\/IMG_7214-e1623359820569.jpg","articleSection":["ELC Blog","Featured"],"inLanguage":"en-US"},{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https:\/\/cehhs.utk.edu\/elc\/2018\/11\/27\/__trashed\/","url":"https:\/\/cehhs.utk.edu\/elc\/2018\/11\/27\/__trashed\/","name":"Independence and Agency - Early Learning Center for Research and Practice","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/cehhs.utk.edu\/elc\/#website"},"primaryImageOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/cehhs.utk.edu\/elc\/2018\/11\/27\/__trashed\/#primaryimage"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/cehhs.utk.edu\/elc\/2018\/11\/27\/__trashed\/#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/cehhs.utk.edu\/elc\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/12\/2018\/11\/IMG_7214-e1623359820569.jpg","datePublished":"2018-11-27T14:32:28+00:00","dateModified":"2024-09-21T00:41:53+00:00","author":{"@id":"https:\/\/cehhs.utk.edu\/elc\/#\/schema\/person\/768615de79d509588f49249742d9ef69"},"breadcrumb":{"@id":"https:\/\/cehhs.utk.edu\/elc\/2018\/11\/27\/__trashed\/#breadcrumb"},"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"ReadAction","target":["https:\/\/cehhs.utk.edu\/elc\/2018\/11\/27\/__trashed\/"]}]},{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/cehhs.utk.edu\/elc\/2018\/11\/27\/__trashed\/#primaryimage","url":"https:\/\/cehhs.utk.edu\/elc\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/12\/2018\/11\/IMG_7214-e1623359820569.jpg","contentUrl":"https:\/\/cehhs.utk.edu\/elc\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/12\/2018\/11\/IMG_7214-e1623359820569.jpg","width":600,"height":450,"caption":"young toddlers set the table for lunch"},{"@type":"BreadcrumbList","@id":"https:\/\/cehhs.utk.edu\/elc\/2018\/11\/27\/__trashed\/#breadcrumb","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"Home","item":"https:\/\/cehhs.utk.edu\/elc\/"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"name":"Independence and Agency"}]},{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"https:\/\/cehhs.utk.edu\/elc\/#website","url":"https:\/\/cehhs.utk.edu\/elc\/","name":"Early Learning Center for Research and Practice","description":"University of Tennessee, Knoxville","potentialAction":[{"@type":"SearchAction","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"https:\/\/cehhs.utk.edu\/elc\/?s={search_term_string}"},"query-input":{"@type":"PropertyValueSpecification","valueRequired":true,"valueName":"search_term_string"}}],"inLanguage":"en-US"},{"@type":"Person","@id":"https:\/\/cehhs.utk.edu\/elc\/#\/schema\/person\/768615de79d509588f49249742d9ef69","name":"Dani Thibus","url":"https:\/\/cehhs.utk.edu\/elc\/author\/drose\/"}]}},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/cehhs.utk.edu\/elc\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3869","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/cehhs.utk.edu\/elc\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/cehhs.utk.edu\/elc\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/cehhs.utk.edu\/elc\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/113"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/cehhs.utk.edu\/elc\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=3869"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/cehhs.utk.edu\/elc\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3869\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/cehhs.utk.edu\/elc\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/4010"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/cehhs.utk.edu\/elc\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=3869"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/cehhs.utk.edu\/elc\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=3869"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/cehhs.utk.edu\/elc\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=3869"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}