PhD project

Understanding Teacher Agency in Universities

How do university lecturers perceive and exercise teacher agency, and what approaches can effectively explore agentic actions and underlying beliefs?

Duration: 2020 - 2025
Contact: Max Kusters
Partners: Studies three and four of this project were conducted in collaboration with Prof. Lizzie Rushton and Prof. Mark Priestley; made possible in part by a grant from the Leiden University Fund.

Researchers

M.C.J. Kusters MSc - PhD candidate
prof.dr. W.F. Admiraal - supervisor
prof.dr. R.M. van der Rijst - supervisor
dr. A.J. de Vetten - co-supervisor

How do university lecturers shape their professional space and navigate challenging teaching situations? Teacher agency is a pivotal capability, empowering lecturers to address complex teaching demands, foster student learning, and contribute to organizational development. In university contexts, where teaching is often undervalued, understanding how lecturers exercise teacher agency provides both scientific and societal insights into enhancing professional practices.

Social relevance

Agentic lecturers are actively and critically engaged in their teaching, striving to develop and enhance teaching practices in meaningful and constructive ways. This not only fosters improved teaching strategies but also contributes to better student outcomes. Teacher agency emerges and evolves through dynamic interactions between lecturers and their students and through collaboration and exchange with colleagues. These interactions form the foundation for reflective practice and continuous improvement in university teaching.

Scientific relevance

Agency has been widely studied across various disciplines and increasingly within educational contexts. This project focuses on Teacher Agency in Universities, aiming to expand the theoretical understanding of agency by empirically investigating it in a context where teaching is often undervalued. By exploring teacher agency in such settings, we contribute to a deeper understanding of how lecturers navigate and shape their professional space.

Study 1: Kusters, M., Van der Rijst, R., De Vetten, A., & Admiraal, W. (2023). University lecturers as change agents: How do they perceive their professional agency? Teaching and Teacher Education, 127, 104097. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.tate.2023.104097
Study 2: Kusters, M., De Vetten, A., Admiraal, W., & Van der Rijst, R. (2024). Developing Scenarios for Exploring Teacher Agency in Universities: A Multimethod Study. Frontline Learning Research, 12(2), 1–26. https://doi.org/10.14786/flr.v12i2.1419
Study 3: Kusters, M., De Vetten, A., Rushton, E.A., Van der Rijst, R., & Admiraal, W. (under review). Exploring Teacher Agency in Universities: Three Types of Agentic Actions.
Study 4: Kusters, M., Rushton, E.A., De Vetten, A., Admiraal, W., & Van der Rijst, R. (submitted). Teacher Agency in Universities: Exploring Underlying Beliefs and Agentic Orientations when Navigating University Teaching Practices.

Kusters, M., Sand, M., & Rietdijk, D. (in press). Identiteit en agency van docenten in universiteiten: Sleutels tot professionele ontwikkeling en onderwijsontwikkelin [Identity and agency of lecturers in universities: Keys to professional and educational development]. Tijdschrift voor Hoger Onderwijs