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. 2025;7(2):336-358.
doi: 10.1007/s42438-025-00544-1. Epub 2025 Mar 15.

The Entangled Learner: Critical Agency for the Postdigital Era

Jillianne Code  1
Affiliations

The Entangled Learner: Critical Agency for the Postdigital Era

Jillianne Code. Postdigit Sci Educ. 2025.

Abstract

The Postdigital Learner Agency (PLĀ) framework redefines learner agency to navigate the complexities of education in the postdigital era-where hybrid learning environments and algorithmically mediated systems shape educational experiences. Grounded in Social Cognitive Theory, Sociocultural Perspectives, and Postdigital Philosophy, PLĀ extends traditional notions of agency by incorporating relational, spatial, collective, and shared dimensions. This paper explores four key questions: How must agency be redefined for hybrid realities? What theoretical foundations support PLĀ? How does it foster equity and resilience? How do sociotechnical systems influence agency? The paper then examines PLĀ's theoretical foundations and its application across K-12, higher education, and lifelong learning contexts. It demonstrates how PLĀ fosters autonomy, adaptability, and algorithmic resilience, ensuring learners are prepared to engage with complex educational and professional landscapes. By addressing systemic inequities and advocating for inclusive policies, PLĀ offers a transformative vision of education-empowering learners to act with confidence, ethical awareness, and agency in postdigital environments.

Keywords: Algorithmic literacy; Digital education; Hybrid learning environments; Learner agency; Postdigital Learner Agency (PLĀ); Postdigital agency; Postdigital philosophy; Relational agency; Sociotechnical systems.

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Figures

Fig. 1
Fig. 1
The Agency for Learning Framework envisioned as a conceptualization of agency (A) as embedded within a reciprocal deterministic relationship between personal (P), behavioral (B) and social (S) or environmental factors. Agency (A) is emergent through a dynamic interplay of intentionality (I), forethought (F), self-regulation (SReg), and self-reflection (self-efficacy; SRef). The solid lines represent intentional, conscious emergent influences
Fig. 2
Fig. 2
An extension of AFL, the Postdigital Learner Agency (PLĀ) framework is further conceptualized through the interplay of four key modes—Proxy, Spatial, Shared, and Collective Agency—within hybrid learning spaces with relational agency as a cross-cutting mode
See this image and copyright information in PMC

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