Facilitation of children’s agency as dialogic education: examples from practice and reflection on practice, including a critical comparison with neo-vygotskian methodologies

Based on a thorough consideration of pedagogical and sociological literature, combined with the authors’ reflection on their own pedagogical practice, this article discusses the circular relationships between facilitation of children’s agency and dialogue in educational contexts: facilitation is a dialogical form of communication, as well as a methodology to secure the sustainability of dialogic pedagogical practice. The first section of the article responds to the question: ‘What are we talking about?’, ‘What do we mean by facilitation?’ The second section compares facilitation and neo-vygotskyian pedagogies, arguing that the former is more apt to sustain dialogic pedagogical practices. The third section discusses real examples of the use of facilitation. taken from the authors’ work in English primary schools. The examples presented in the second part of the article show the translation of facilitation from methodology to practice, focusing on an important facilitative action: minimal feedback. In its final section, the article argues that facilitation can position children as authors of valid knowledge, as they author narratives that share experiences and emotions. The article concludes by proposing facilitation as a methodology that can fulfil the ambition to transform educational interactions in social contexts where dialogical pedagogy can flourish.