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Youth agency in and through education

Working to center young people, their voice, and agency in efforts to transform education research, policy, and systems.

Children and youth are key to developing solutions that impact their lives, yet education systems often fail to center young people as agents of their own learning and exploration. This deepens crises of learning, (dis)engagement, and exclusion around the world.  

The Center for Universal Education at Brookings (CUE) envisions a world in which children and youth have a voice in their own learning and access to relevant, sustainable, and scalable education that will provide them with the skills to succeed in the world. This vision requires transforming education systems, starting by fundamentally rethinking the purpose of education and putting young people in the center.

CUE, through its initiatives that support student engagement and agency, works with actors across education ecosystems – including young people themselves – to better understand how to engage, strengthen, and promote the agency of children and youth.

Upcoming Events

What we’re learning

Centering students’ voices is about making space for them to be heard. Educators, families, and community members all have a powerful role to play in helping children and youth exercise and develop their agency in ways that advance their engagement, learning, and development.

Student engagement and learning

Youth agency and civic action

Girls' agency

How we're learning

Young people themselves need to be essential partners in research and practice.

Youth voice in education research (and beyond)

Girl-centered methodologies

Events

We bring together diverse education actors—including youth, researchers, policymakers, and advocates—to enable, support, facilitate, and lead important conversations and catalyze movement and action on important and timely issues.