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5 - Teacher Autonomy

The Professional Independence of Teachers

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  24 October 2024

Andrzej Cirocki
Affiliation:
University of York
Wolfgang Hallet
Affiliation:
University of Bonn
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Summary

Teacher autonomy is a key component of teacher professionalism. It is positively related to self‐efficacy and job satisfaction among teachers – two factors that enhance their motivation and commitment to providing successful learning opportunities for students. However, despite playing a vital role in the teaching–learning process, insufficient attention has been paid over the past few decades to teacher autonomy in the field of English language teaching. There are significant gaps in theory, research, and practice. For example, there is a lack of consistency in definitions of teacher autonomy. Available empirical studies are also rather scarce. With this in mind, this chapter defines the construct of teacher autonomy and presents a profile of an autonomous teacher. This is followed by an overview of empirical projects investigating teacher autonomy. The aim is to show what has been done and what the findings reveal and identify possible gaps practitioners and educational researchers could fill in future research. The focus then shifts to pedagogical strategies for promoting teacher autonomy in teacher education programmes or professional development events. Eleven effective strategies are proposed that can be easily integrated into both types of provision and afford teachers ample opportunity to show personal autonomy and engage in collaboration, thus demonstrating collective autonomy.

Type
Chapter
Information
Professionalising English Language Teaching
Concepts and Reflections for Action in Teacher Education
, pp. 99 - 116
Publisher: Cambridge University Press
Print publication year: 2024

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  • Teacher Autonomy
  • Andrzej Cirocki, University of York, Wolfgang Hallet, University of Bonn
  • Book: Professionalising English Language Teaching
  • Online publication: 24 October 2024
  • Chapter DOI: https://doi.org/10.1017/9781009350235.005
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To save content items to your account, please confirm that you agree to abide by our usage policies. If this is the first time you use this feature, you will be asked to authorise Cambridge Core to connect with your account. Find out more about saving content to Dropbox.

  • Teacher Autonomy
  • Andrzej Cirocki, University of York, Wolfgang Hallet, University of Bonn
  • Book: Professionalising English Language Teaching
  • Online publication: 24 October 2024
  • Chapter DOI: https://doi.org/10.1017/9781009350235.005
Available formats
×

Save book to Google Drive

To save content items to your account, please confirm that you agree to abide by our usage policies. If this is the first time you use this feature, you will be asked to authorise Cambridge Core to connect with your account. Find out more about saving content to Google Drive.

  • Teacher Autonomy
  • Andrzej Cirocki, University of York, Wolfgang Hallet, University of Bonn
  • Book: Professionalising English Language Teaching
  • Online publication: 24 October 2024
  • Chapter DOI: https://doi.org/10.1017/9781009350235.005
Available formats
×