SelfDetermination and Agency: the role of schools and educational and teaching practices

Abstract

This work is a theoreticalreflective contribution aimed at analyzing the role and relationship between selfdetermination and agency within contemporary school contexts, characterized by growing forms of educational and social vulnerability. Through SelfDetermination Theory and comparison with recent studies on the relationship between adolescents and school, the paper delves into the need for autonomy and the role of teacher support in promoting motivation and wellbeing and student participation. This highlights the need to rethink schools as educational environments capable of supporting processes of choice, participation, and sensebuilding, promoting conditions favorable to the development of selfdetermination and agency.