Beyond Student Voice: Navigating Challenges in a Time of Neoliberalism

Abstract

This article explores how one secondary school principal aspired to develop a culture of learner agency. Specifically, we seek to show how the principal, as a lead learner, navigated structural, material, and cultural challenges in his efforts to conceptualize and enact agency beyond student voice. This article begins with a review of the literature about learner agency and how conceptualizations have evolved. This is followed by an outline of the research context and the methodology underpinning the study. Challenges to learner agency and a lead learner's attempt to overcome these are then explored, including the surfacing of competing conceptualizations of agency, the disruption of habitual ways of being, and the positioning of learner agency in the turbulent times of the COVID-19 pandemic. This article concludes with considerations for educators to continue deepening their understanding of learner agency and the translation of these understandings into their everyday practices with young people. © 2022 Common Ground Research Networks, Larissa Raymond, Anne Cloonan. All Rights Reserved.