Instructional Designers' Perceptions of Their Agency: Tales of Change and Community

Abstract

Instructional designers provide more than service in the design and development of instruction; they also act as social change agents. This chapter draws on the stories of instructional designers to develop a model of change agency that includes interpersonal, professional, institutional and societal dimensions. The model provides guidance for the development of new skills in instructional design, for serious reflection by instructional designers about their own influence as agents, and for graduate programs in instructional design to address agency.