Agency Manifestations in Schoolchildren and Their Involvement in Participatory Budgeting

Introduction. Education plays a key role in shaping the younger generation’s agency, i.e. their proactive attitude and ability to constructively transform social reality. In this context, it is important to understand how involving schoolchildren in decision-making processes, such as school participatory budgeting, can contribute to the development of their personal responsibility and initiative. However, these practices have not been practically investigated in the context of students’ agency, and there is a lack of empirical evidence on how these initiatives can solve real problems and improve the school community. The aim of the study is to investigate the agency of schoolchildren involved in school participatory budgeting, with an emphasis on identifying the motives and effects of this activity. Materials and Methods. The empirical base includes the results of a survey of 670 schoolchildren in grades 7–11 enrolled in schools with significant experience in participatory budgeting, which was conducted from May to October 2023 in 32 regions of the Russian Federation. The questionnaire contained questions about specific practices of students’ participation in the development of the educational organization’s infrastructure, in holding events, competitions, the degree of involvement in school participatory budgeting, motives and results of this activity. The level of agency was determined using a specially developed methodology to assess its manifestations in various spheres: family, learning process, school life, interaction with peers, finances.Results. The main motives for taking part in school participatory budgeting are personal development, acquisition of new competencies, knowledge and social mobility. The higher the level of agency, the higher the degree of involvement in budgeting. However, a high level of agency and the maximum degree of involvement are typical only for a small percentage of respondents. Participants in school participatory budgeting with the highest level of agency often seek changes to existing practices and regulations, as well as the implementation of socially significant projects aimed at improving the life of the school community. Discussion and Conclusion. The level of schoolchildren’s agency is closely related to their involvement in participatory budgeting. With the most frequent mentioning by respondents of individually significant motives and results, participants of participatory budgeting with the highest level of agency are characterized by a combination of individualistic and altruistic motives and effects of this activity. This study provides educators engaged in school participatory budgeting with target benchmarks for analyzing educational outcomes, helps school leaders to more accurately define the school development strategy and determine directions for changing the corporate culture of interaction between children and adults in the educational environment. It also opens prospects for future research on the relationship between agency, participation in initiatives, and civic identity formation, which will be of interest to sociologists and psychologists analyzing youth behavior and social activity.