Working within and against school structures: Exploring elementary teachers' agency for science and engineering instruction

Abstract

Many elementary classrooms lack science and engineering instruction. This problem is compounded by teachers who feel they lack the autonomy, trust, and agency to include these experiences in their elementary curricula. However, this view of elementary teachers perpetuates prevalent pessimism focusing on what teachers lack and cannot accomplish. This study pushes back against these dominant narratives to explore teachers' agency as they work to integrate science and engineering into elementary curricula and provide transformative learning experiences. Using a STEM journey mapping protocol combined with narrative inquiry, this article explores elementary teachers' narratives, voices, lived experiences, and agency. Study results provide examples of teachers creatively pushing boundaries while working within school structures and yield a more nuanced conceptualization of teachers' agency.