Learner Agency in Feedback: A Review of Conceptualisations and Related Constructs

Learner agency in feedback, commonly referred to as learner feedback agency (LFA), has garnered significant scholarly attention over the last decade. Despite growing scholarly interest, a comprehensive understanding of LFA’s conceptualisations remains limited. This review critically evaluates existing publications to gather insights into the characteristics of prevailing conceptualisations of LFA. Findings indicate an increasing number of studies directly exploring LFA, yet the majority of reviewed literature centres on five key constructs overlapping or encompassing LFA: feedback uptake, feedback engagement, student voice in feedback, student autonomy in feedback, and feedback-seeking. Furthermore, this review identified a network of seven interrelated facets that underpin current conceptualisations of LFA, namely behavioural, cognitive, affective, dispositional, relational, societal, and material facets. Employing the metaphor of a knot, this review attempts to contribute to a more comprehensive understanding of LFA by considering it as an intricate and dynamic entanglement among these facets. This review contributes to the field by offering a theoretical synthesis and foundation for future research and discourse on LFA.