Teachers’ Negotiation of Democratic Risk and Professional Agency in Early Years and Primary Education: Insights from Participatory Research Ecologies

This article examines how teachers in Early Years and Primary Education experience and negotiate democratic risk when enacting democratic pedagogy. Drawing on qualitative data generated through participatory research in Portugal and Croatia within the Horizon Europe AECED project, the study analyses reflections, dialogical exchanges, and collaborative inquiry processes from 33 participants across four cases. Democratic risk is conceptualised as situations in which teachers perceive that democratic pedagogical action may expose them to uncertainty, loss of control, professional scrutiny, or relational tension. The findings identify three interrelated themes: (1) democratic risk as pedagogical, professional, relational, and institutional exposure; (2) the negotiation of legitimacy and accountability; and (3) participatory research as a professional learning ecology supporting teacher agency. Rather than functioning merely as a barrier, democratic risk emerges as an inherent condition of democratic pedagogy and a key site for the development of professional judgement and agency. The article contributes to research on democratic education by introducing democratic risk as an empirically grounded analytic concept and by demonstrating how teacher agency is enacted relationally within professional and institutional contexts. It further highlights the role of participatory research in supporting teachers to navigate the tensions inherent in democratic practice.