Language teachers' beliefs about teacher autonomy

Learner autonomy is learners’ willingness and capacity to take responsibility to control their learning process inside and outside the classroom.

Teacher autonomy is the capacity, freedom and the responsibility to make choices concerning one's own teaching and learning.

Teachers' roles

• Negotiator
• Facilitator - personal qualities and technical support
• Counselor

Beliefs

• not directly observable
• complex
• change over time
• inconsistent

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• Teachers' understanding of teacher autonomy
• Autonomy in professional development
• Autonomy in teaching

Context and participants

Understanding teacher autonomy

• Freedom in teaching
• Freedom from students' influence
• Influence of previous learning experience

Professional development

• Strong motivation
• Teachers' presence was needed
• Influenced by the role as a teacher- expectation to be instructed
• Solitary effort
• Use of past tense

Autonomy in teaching

• Different levels of autonomy
• Influence of previous language teachers
• Awareness about teachers' roles: facilitator, resource person, counselor, model

Constraints

• Students' lack of motivation
• Institutional constraints
• Pressure from the curriculum
• Negative effect of technology
• Learned helplessness

Conclusions

• Differences in understanding teacher autonomy
• Lack of teacher development in the present
• Learned helplessness
• Influence of previous teachers

If we teach today as we taught yesterday, we rob our children of tomorrow. John Dewey

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Untitled Slide

Untitled Slide

• Teachers' understanding of teacher autonomy
• Autonomy in professional development
• Autonomy in teaching