Junior School

Cultivating Agency and Empowering Our Students

Throughout my educational career so far, one of the most common complaints I hear from parents is that their children simply do not listen. I have also experienced firsthand the frustration when students respond with resistance or defiance when told to do something. However, I can certainly empathise with young people because when I’m told to do something myself, my first response is often, ‘But why?'.

Change needs to come from within, and it is only through developing perspectives and purpose that we take greater ownership of our actions. For example, as part of my own academic pursuit of completing my PhD, I am currently exploring a range of descriptive statistics related to quantitative analysis…it’s about as fun as it sounds!

By definition, agency is the control an individual has over their actions and decision-making. Agency plays a significant role when it comes to wellbeing. In healthy relationships, each person deserves a voice and should not be controlled by another. Agency also promotes a shift from an ‘external locus of control,’ where we believe everything happens to us, to an ‘internal locus of control,’ where we understand our capacity to effect change. This shift not only promotes resilience, but it also reduces feelings of helplessness.

So as parents/carers, how can we practically promote agency in our children while still providing guidance? Realistically, it takes patience, trust, and time. I’ve seen firsthand that when given the opportunity, even early primary-aged children have the ability to develop their own perspectives and take ownership of their behaviour. The key lies in facilitating their own understanding through discussion, experimentation, and reflection. While establishing clear boundaries and expectations is important, perhaps, for example, allow your son to decide when and how they do their homework within those limits. The next time he comes to you with a problem, perhaps simply empathise and ask some questions about what he thinks might be helpful in order to solve the issue. Likewise, when organising your next family holiday, consider encouraging him to take part in the contribution of ideas, but also the taking on of responsibilities, such as researching transport options or simply packing his own bags.

As parents/carers, we can promote agency by looking for opportunities for our children to think independently, make decisions, and learn from experience. Through this process, young people develop a sense of accountability and a genuine understanding of their own ability to bring about change in their lives.

Habit Formation

Positive habits…we know and experience their benefits, yet we are also familiar with our less favourable ones. The process of building, forming, and maintaining positive habits is sometimes quite difficult, particularly for students who are constantly learning and growing. Yet, often the proximal rewards (e.g., the feel-good sensation of that third scoop of ice cream) are stronger than the distal benefits (e.g., healthy weight and lifestyle).

Habit formation can be defined as the process by which behaviours become automatic. The automaticity of behaviours depends on cue-behaviour associations stored in our memory. When encountering a certain context cue (e.g. coming home after school), associated behaviours are triggered. The behaviour (e.g., completing homework tasks for the day) can contribute to a potential reward for engaging in the behaviour (e.g., a sense of achievement or parental praise) which increases the desire to engage in the behaviour when encountering the cue again. Once habits are formed, context cues prompt automatic, unconscious activation of the behaviour, the habitual response, irrespective of the presence of rewards.

So how long does it take to form a habit? Contrary to what many people believe, it has been found that, on average, individuals take around 2 months to reach the asymptote of automaticity. In order for a habit to be formed, context-dependent repetition must be engaged to facilitate the development of automaticity. The use of rewards for cue-behaviour associations can increase the likelihood of future engagement in the behaviour. Extrinsic and tangible rewards, in addition to intrinsic rewards, have also been shown to improve the automaticity of behaviours. However, a habit is often only truly formed once the reward is no longer the actual goal of the behaviour.

So how can we help students to break those unwanted habits that get in the way of them reaching their long-term goals? Behavioural research in this area points out that in order to extinguish an unwanted habit, the removal of cues within the environment that illicit the unwanted behaviour can be very effective. For example, if you want your son to stop using his phone during the night you could remove the phone charger (cue) from his room. Additionally, pairing the situational cue with an alternative behavioural response can also be effective (e.g., leaving a book beside his bed instead).

As parents/carers, you might consider trying the following strategies to assist your son/s in new habit formation.

Encourage him to consistently repeat the behaviour in the presence of a cue (e.g., going for a run after school instead of watching television).
Think about what can be used as an extrinsic and/or intrinsic reward for performing the behaviour after a cue (e.g., playing games with family or friends after doing homework).
Remove cues that elicit unwanted habits he is trying to break and if he is in the presence of these cues, replace them with alternative behaviours.

If you have any queries or concerns, please do not hesitate to contact me via email (glenn.stephenson@spc.nsw.edu.au) or phone (8705 9247) and I will endeavour to assist you in any way that I can.

May God bless you,

Glenn Stephenson

Director of Junior School