3. Student Agency

For decades, education reform in the U.S. has recognised the importance of listening to student voices — but listening alone is not enough. This section introduces the idea that true student agency requires moving beyond tokenistic consultation and toward students as active partners in shaping their own learning and contributing to school and system improvement.

Drawing on international models such as the Northern Territory Learning Commission (Australia), and U.S. frameworks like SEL and civic engagement, we’ll explore how agency involves students co-designing learning, giving feedback that influences change, and holding a real stake in decisions. Building agency is not a “nice to have”; it’s a moral and practical imperative for equity, belonging, and improved outcomes.

Moving from aspiration to action requires practical approaches that enable educators and leaders to foster authentic student agency. The P4 Model (“Partnership to the power of four”) demonstrates how students, educators, leaders, and policymakers can collaborate to co-create meaningful change in schools and systems.

In effective partnerships, students engage in shared decision-making, supported by a clear purpose and alignment with broader improvement goals. Processes are made transparent, with follow-through on student input to build trust and credibility. Students develop the skills they need to contribute meaningfully through capacity-building opportunities, such as training in data analysis, communication, and critical thinking. These practices are grounded in trust, equity, and culturally responsive design, ensuring all students feel valued and heard. In the U.S. context, these principles align with strategies from SEL (social-emotional learning) frameworks and civic education initiatives, which emphasise collaboration, responsible decision-making, and active citizenship as essential skills for young people.

In Catholic education, fostering student agency is deeply rooted in the Church’s vision of human dignity and the mission of Catholic schools. The Catechism of the Catholic Church reminds us that each young person is made imago Dei — in the image and likeness of God — with unique gifts, a capacity for reason and conscience, and a vocation to serve others (CCC 1700). This calls educators to honor students not just as recipients of knowledge, but as active co-creators of their learning and their community.

Pope Francis, in Christus Vivit (2019), speaks directly to young people: “Take an active part in change. You are the ones who hold the future! Through you the future enters the world” (CV, 174). Student agency, seen through this lens, is not just a pedagogical strategy — it is a response to the Gospel call to form young people as missionary disciples, capable of discernment, leadership, and action for justice and the common good.

Practices such as shared decision-making, student-led service and advocacy, and partnerships between students and educators resonate with Catholic Social Teaching principles of participation, solidarity, and the preferential option for the poor. Agency helps students see themselves as protagonists of God’s plan, responsible for the care of creation, for promoting peace, and for building inclusive, life-giving communities.

Catholic schools are thus called to intentionally create environments where students’ voices, ideas, and gifts contribute to the flourishing of the whole school and beyond — making visible the Kingdom of God in our midst.

In Catholic education, student agency is not only about shaping learning but also about empowering students to respond to the pressing challenges of our world — particularly care for creation. Pope Francis, in Laudato Si’ (2015), calls everyone, especially young people, to hear “the cry of the earth and the cry of the poor” (LS 49) and take action to protect our common home. This ecological conversion begins with awareness but must lead to participation and transformation.

When students are trusted as partners, they bring their creativity, moral clarity, and urgency to ecological issues — designing and leading initiatives that make schools more sustainable, inclusive, and just. The Beyond Voice article reminds us that authentic partnerships involve listening to students’ lived experience and empowering them to innovate solutions that matter to their context. When schools give students meaningful roles in decisions about energy use, waste reduction, climate advocacy, and justice for marginalized communities, they practice ecological stewardship in ways that deepen both learning and faith.

This aligns with Catholic Social Teaching principles of solidarity, subsidiarity, and the integrity of creation. By integrating an ecological lens into student agency, Catholic educators help students live their vocation as stewards of creation (Genesis 2:15), becoming agents of hope and healing in a world marked by environmental and social challenges.

As Laudato Si’ reminds us: “Young people demand change. They wonder how anyone can claim to be building a better future without thinking of the environmental crisis and the sufferings of the excluded” (LS 13). Student agency through an ecological lens affirms their rightful place at the table — not only as future leaders but as present-day partners in building a more sustainable and compassionate world.

The Laudato Si Movement have created a documentaty film titled ‘The Letter. This documentary brings to light the key messages of Laudato Si’ and what is happening to our common home. One of the priorities in this documentary is bringing in the voice of youth to enact change. You can view the whole documentary here. The trailer is shown below.