Agency, autonomy and self-determination: Questioning key concepts of childhood studies

Sutterlüty, Ferdinand; Tisdall, E. Kay M.

doi:10.1177/2043610619860992

Cited by 29 publications

(24 citation statements)

References 17 publications

(13 reference statements)

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“…This autonomy inspires their motivations, decision-making processes, actions and satisfaction levels, as well as provides the foundation for self-identity and other attributes associated with this (like self-confidence, as we see shortly) (Bandura 1998). The idea of personal self-rule and self-realisation, therefore, is central to the concept of autonomy (Sutterlüty and Tisdall 2019).…”

Section: Building Foundations: Realising Autonomymentioning

confidence: 99%

Developmental spaces? Developmental Psychology and urban geographies of youth in sub-Saharan Africa

Banks

2020

Children's Geographies

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While urban geographies play a critical role in shaping youth development, existing literature has focused primarily on the ways in which young people use, navigate and shape cities. This has overlooked the depth and complexity of Africa's urban youth crisis. This paper introduces a new analytic framework, based on principles of Developmental Psychology, outlining the four critical psychosocial processes of building foundations, building blocks, building support structures and building aspirations that young people must draw upon as they navigate their futures. It then explores the ways in which the city and its economic, social and political landscapes have undermined these across the African continent. Cities shape poverty and hardship, but also transform social norms and practices in ways that constrain, undermine or erode these developmental processes. Where social support and socioeconomic status cannot protect young people in tough economic contexts, city life is detrimental to young people's psychosocial well-being, development and long-term futures.

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Section: Building Foundations: Realising Autonomymentioning

confidence: 99%

Developmental spaces? Developmental Psychology and urban geographies of youth in sub-Saharan Africa

Banks

2020

Children's Geographies

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“…Here, the biologization and passification of children are no longer presented as random category-mistakes (as suggested by the agency concept) that can be rectified with the correct view-namely, that of children who possess agency. Rather, these are processes underlying a social power structure and its justification order (Sutterlüty and Tisdall, 2019). "The social reality of socialization was to be seen in its constraining effect on individuals, this appearing as the internalization by them of social facts originally external and independent of them."…”

Section: Child Agency and The Generational Order-a Critique Of Power mentioning

confidence: 99%

The principle of child autonomy: A rationale for the normative agenda of childhood studies

Mühlbacher

Sutterlüty

2019

Global Studies of Childhood

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The normative aim of childhood studies is to show that children are and should be recognized as active shapers of their lifeworlds. In this article, we discuss which concept can best be used to accomplish this. Our thesis is that the agency concept ubiquitous in childhood studies only inadequately advances the field’s normative agenda. Mostly containing some hidden normativity, its meaning remains primarily descriptive. Indeed, children always have some kind of agency, regardless of the conditions they live in. They may exercise agency while still being manipulated or otherwise rendered incapable of acting as autonomous human beings. Against this backdrop, we first delineate the deficiencies of the notion of child agency and try to show why it should be replaced by that of autonomy in order to preserve and make explicit its hidden normative impetus. Second, we seek to clarify which understanding of autonomy is able to fulfill our aspirations. We oppose individualistic notions of autonomy and, by the same token, draw on criticism of the insufficient attention often paid to structural social factors. Eventually, we aim to develop a social concept of child autonomy that takes into account the relationality of human existence and replaces the asymmetrical relationship between children and adults with an equal appreciation of differences.

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“…This is an important outcome since, as previously outlined, the construct of agency is central in psychology and the human sciences, especially in the last two decades. Observing and evaluating people's agentic behaviors and practices (of women, men, children) allows for greater insight into the various modes of negotiating their life contexts, navigating difficulties, and utilizing the resources (personal, local, relational, community) present in their environment (Cavazzoni et al, 2020;Eteläpelto et al, 2013;Spyrou, 2018;Sutterlüty & Tisdall, 2019;Veronese et al, 2019aVeronese et al, , 2019b. Moreover, as the literature points out, investigating people's agency informs us about their well-being, their resilience, and their daily actions with respect to the structures in which their lives are embedded.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

How Do We Assess How Agentic We Are? A Literature Review of Existing Instruments to Evaluate and Measure Individuals' Agency

2021

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The importance and centrality of the construct of agency is wellknown amongst social scientists. Yet, there is still little agreement on how this construct should be understood and defined, as demonstrated by the diversity of instruments that are used to investigate it. Indeed, there is no current consensus or standardized methodology to assess agency. This paper provides a synthetic overview of the studies that have evaluated and measured individuals' agency. More specifically, the purpose is to review research that quantitatively investigates the agency of adults, as well as children and youth, across different social contexts. In the process, it offers recommendations to inform future research, practice, and policy. We identified published peer-reviewed studies relating to the assessment of agency across countries and across age through a narrative literature review. The findings were grouped according to whether agency was measured in its most comprehensive conception or in a precise single domain or dimension, which was then discussed separately for children, adults, and women. Of the 3879 studies identified from online searches of the literature and the five additional sources gathered through bibliography mining, 106 qualified for full review, with 34 studies included in the final synthesis. Multiple different instruments were found to be currently adopted or developed to assess agency. The present review offers an exhaustive overview of the different conceptualizations of agency and of the available instruments to assess it, providing critical information for researchers and policymakers to improve intervention and empowerment programs.

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Agency, autonomy and self-determination: Questioning key concepts of childhood studies

Cited by 29 publications

References 17 publications

Developmental spaces? Developmental Psychology and urban geographies of youth in sub-Saharan Africa

Developmental spaces? Developmental Psychology and urban geographies of youth in sub-Saharan Africa

The principle of child autonomy: A rationale for the normative agenda of childhood studies

How Do We Assess How Agentic We Are? A Literature Review of Existing Instruments to Evaluate and Measure Individuals' Agency

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