ABSTRACT
This chapter presents critical realism as a theoretical framework for understanding relationships between educational structures and children’s agency. Beginning with the fundamental debate between structure and agency in social theory, it defines agency as a socially situated capacity to act. The chapter demonstrates how critical realism’s three domains of existence – the real, the actual, and the empirical – illuminate both the presence and absence of factors shaping children’s educational experiences and opportunities. Through examining the distinction between children’s sense of agency and their exercise of agency, it reveals how institutional practices profoundly impact children’s self-perception and actions. The chapter identifies four key dimensions of agency – contextual, intrapersonal, interpersonal, and temporal – demonstrating their dynamic interaction in educational settings. This theoretical framework provides essential insights for understanding how children’s agency operates within and, in turn, shapes educational structures.
