The DOI matches its Crossref record.
A theory of student agency in higher education
Abstract
This chapter proposes a theory of student agency in higher education as an overarching framework for structuring ideas about conditions of student experiences and student outcomes. Student agency is defined as students’ capabilities to navigate, influence, and take responsibility for their learning and education pathways and environments. The student agency model accounts for time, space, and place dynamics to explain the double ‘conversion’: the conversion of agentic orientations into a set of capabilities that comprise student agency and the conversion of student agency into student experiences and outcomes. The theory of student agency focuses on relationships between structures and students’ capabilities such as intentionality, forethought and self-direction, self-regulation and reflexivity, self-awareness and self-authorship, self-efficacy and self-determination, and mental wellbeing. It addresses the questions: (1) What is student agency? (2) What are the student agency dynamics across, time, space, and place in higher education? (3) How does student agency affect student outcomes?
Overview
Integrity signals
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Cites
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Claims other papers make about this one
Each is checked against this paper’s own text: does it say what the citing paper says it does?
In the citing paper
“Student agency is key for success in higher education and includes self-regulated learning, self-efficacy, intentionality, forethought, and self-awareness [11].”
From Generative artificial intelligence in physiotherapy education: great potential amidst challenges- a qualitative interview study (2025) · cites this paper as [11]
In the citing paper
“Students with high agency show greater motivation to learn, define learning objectives, and develop lifelong learning skills [11].”
From Generative artificial intelligence in physiotherapy education: great potential amidst challenges- a qualitative interview study (2025) · cites this paper as [11]
In the citing paper
“The risks and benefits of students using GAI in their education can be related to student agency, which involves actively mastering learning by making responsible choices, setting goals, and reflecting on the learning process.”
From Generative artificial intelligence in physiotherapy education: great potential amidst challenges- a qualitative interview study (2025) · cites this paper as [11]
Citations
Cited by
Lindbäck, Y., Schröder, K., Engström, T., Valeskog, K., & Sonesson, S. (2025) · BMC Medical Education · doi:10.1186/s12909-025-07106-w · Cited by 22
Marginson, S. (2023) · Palgrave studies in global higher education · doi:10.1007/978-3-031-44885-0_2 · Cited by 21
Corrigan, V. K., Newman, R. L., Richmond, P., Strand, E. B., & Vaisman, J. M. (2025) · Frontiers in Veterinary Science · doi:10.3389/fvets.2024.1484412 · Cited by 25
The Double-Coded Self in Higher Education: Student Self-Formation and Social Sustainability
Marginson, S. (2024) · British Journal of Educational Studies · doi:10.1080/00071005.2024.2422444 · Cited by 13
Integrating AI in higher education: transforming teachers' roles in boosting student agency
Adhikari, D. P., & Pandey, G. P. (2025) · Educational Technology Quarterly · doi:10.55056/etq.943 · Cited by 20
Metadata
- Authors
- Klemenčič, M.
- ORCID
- Klemenčič, Manja
- Venue
- Research Handbook on the Student Experience in Higher Education
- Publisher
- Edward Elgar Publishing
- Published
- 2023-11-28
- Pages
- 25-40
- OpenAlex
- W4388938733
- Cited by
- 39
- References
- 0
- Citations by year
- 2026: 23 · 2025: 11 · 2024: 3 · 2023: 1
- FWCI
- 67.73
- Type
- book chapter
- Language
- en
- Open access
- closed
- Locations
- Edward Elgar Publishing eBooks (publishedVersion)
- Topics
- Social Sciences › Education › Higher Education Research Studies
- Social Sciences › Education › Higher Education Practises and Engagement
- Social Sciences › Education › Educational Leadership and Innovation
- Keywords
- student agency, higher education, student experience, student outcomes, self-regulation, self-determination, self-efficacy, self-authorship, psychological well-being, student ability, principal-agent model
About these checks
Registry, retraction, Cites and statistics results are computed, not judged, with one exception: a printed reference that no index lists is read once by a model before it counts as a citation error. Claims are extracted by a model and kept only when their quote appears verbatim in the text; each cited source is then checked, with a model’s help, for whether it says what the claim relies on. Those verdicts can be wrong — read the claim’s quote and the cited source before relying on one.
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Cite CoChat for the checks on this page, and the paper for its own findings.
- This page
- CoChat. (2026). Citation check: A theory of student agency in higher education. https://app.cochat.ai/papers/10.4337/9781802204193.00010
- The paper
- Klemenčič, M. (2023). A theory of student agency in higher education. Research Handbook on the Student Experience in Higher Education. https://doi.org/10.4337/9781802204193.00010
