Children’s multidimensional agency: Insights into the structuration of choice

Abstract

The structuration of agency that lies behind children’s accounts of their well-being in Australia is highlighted. The three forms of agency that are evidenced from the data – agency as competence, agency as self-determination and agency as practical action in everyday contexts – provide insights regarding the characteristics of social structure. The multidimensionality of agency appears in practical achievements, individual choices and everyday action that are all constituted intersubjectively. Theories dealing with the complex links between choice and reflexive monitoring allow better understanding of agency.