Students must be the masters of their circumstances, not victims.

In this section of the book, I look at what we’re really trying to achieve as school leaders. Sure, we want students to do well at school – but more than that, we want them to thrive in life after school. That’s where agency comes in. I define agency as the degree to which a person can take initiative and meaningfully influence their world, particularly in the face of challenges. It needs three things: the environment to act, the will to act, and the power to act.

I explore how the Learning Equation (Growth = Skilful Teaching x Skilful Learning) helps us understand that while quality teaching is important, it’s not the whole story. To truly develop agency, we need to focus on both sides of this equation.

Next Steps

1. Read this section of the book to dive deeper into these ideas and explore the examples that will help you bring them to life in your school
2. Listen to the audio summary below for a quick overview of these key concepts
3. Use the activities provided to explore what this means for your school

How to Explore These Ideas With Your Team

These three activities will help you examine your current school culture and envision the changes needed to develop true learner agency.

1. Defining Student Success (30-45 minutes)

• Have teachers brainstorm qualities they want their students to possess 20 years after leaving school
• Compare this list to the elements of learner agency: environment to act, will to act, and power to act
• Discuss how well your current definition of success aligns with developing student agency

2. Analyzing Our Teaching Culture (45 minutes)

• Divide teachers into small groups
• Assign each group one area of school life (e.g., classroom practices, professional development, parent-teacher communication)
• Have them identify specific examples of how your school’s focus might be more on teaching than learning
• Share findings and discuss what might need to change

3. The Learning Equation (30 minutes)

• Facilitate a discussion about “Growth = Skilful Teaching x Skilful Learning”
• Have teachers share examples of how they could partner with their students to create what I describe as a “Torvill and Dean” performance in the classroom
• Consider what changes might be needed to “raise the status of learning from an act to an art” in your school

Reflection Questions

• How well does your school currently balance its focus on teaching and learning?
• What evidence of student agency do you see in your school?
• Where do you see opportunities to increase student agency?

Don’t have the book yet? Purchase Learnership here

Want to discuss how these ideas could transform your school community? Schedule a time with James

Ready to Continue Your Learnership Journey?

Once you’ve explored these foundational ideas about agency with your team, you’ll be ready to discover how mindset forms the foundation for Learnership. In Part II, I explore how our beliefs about learning shape everything we do in schools, and introduce you to powerful tools like the Mindset Continuum that will help you create a true culture of growth.