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NEW: Teacher autonomy: how does it relate to job satisfaction and retention?
http://www.nfer.ac.uk/teacherautonomy #teacherautonomy
Thread on the key findings from the research, and thoughts about what we should do differently because of them
http://www.nfer.ac.uk/teacherautonomy #teacherautonomy
Thread on the key findings from the research, and thoughts about what we should do differently because of them
Teachers in England have a lower level of professional autonomy compared to other professions. The autonomy gap affects many areas of work, including the influence teachers feel they have over *how* they do their job (work manner)
This autonomy gap compared to other professions is a long standing one, suggesting that teacher autonomy in England has not been significantly affected by policy changes since 2010 (e.g. the increase in school autonomy through the growth of academy schools)
Teacher autonomy does not increase with age/experience, as much as in other professions
In general, teachers who stay in the classroom after their first five years don’t experience increased autonomy as their careers progress and are only likely to if they enter leadership roles
In general, teachers who stay in the classroom after their first five years don’t experience increased autonomy as their careers progress and are only likely to if they enter leadership roles
Autonomy varies considerably between different areas of teachers’ work
Teachers report higher influence over classroom activities (teaching methods, planning, lay out) and lower for curriculum, assessment and professional development goals
Teachers report higher influence over classroom activities (teaching methods, planning, lay out) and lower for curriculum, assessment and professional development goals
Teacher autonomy is lower in School Trusts, particularly those with more than ten schools. This may be linked to Trusts standardising or aligning practices across schools as they develop
Autonomy is strongly associated with both higher teacher job satisfaction and intention to stay in teaching. This is why we care about it when retaining teachers is so critical for the system
It’s good to confirm what the psychology literature suggests we should expect. People thrive when they feel competence, autonomy and have good colleague relationships, because meeting these needs enhances intrinsic motivation
And what’s the mechanism? It seems to be workload.
Autonomy is related to perceptions of how manageable teachers feel their workload is, but not working hours. When we talk about workload, we need to go beyond mere working hours
Autonomy is related to perceptions of how manageable teachers feel their workload is, but not working hours. When we talk about workload, we need to go beyond mere working hours
So teacher autonomy is important, but is only part of the picture for school leaders. Responsibility for ensuring the school operates with coherence to deliver good pupil outcomes can involve balancing autonomy and alignment. http://www.nfer.ac.uk/teacherautonomy
But there’s a big difference between consistency and conformity: the ideal would be to, where possible, combine high autonomy with coherence and alignment to maximise the benefits that flow from both
Meaningful staff involvement and engagement in decision-making, to ensure their buy-in, seems essential. It’s worth noting that England (in 2013) had the lowest level of reported active participation in school decisions in the OECD
But what we really want to know is which areas of teachers’ work, on their own, have the strongest association with job satisfaction?
The answer for teachers seems to be influence over their professional development goals
The answer for teachers seems to be influence over their professional development goals
Recommendations for schools leaders: think hard about PD design and delivery. Teachers with good involvement in setting their PD goals likely to be motivated and find the resulting PD more relevant
The wonderful people @TeacherDevTrust partnered with us on this research when we realised how important professional development was to the story. They have produced very handy accompanying guidance for school leaders: http://www.tdtrust.org/autonomy20
Finally, thank you to:
- @usociety for the data #citethedata
- those who attended the practitioner focus group and the policy roundtable for such helpful input
- my fab colleagues at NFER who helped put this together: @jens_brande @sundipgill @tash_armstrong @steenvidebeck
- @usociety for the data #citethedata
- those who attended the practitioner focus group and the policy roundtable for such helpful input
- my fab colleagues at NFER who helped put this together: @jens_brande @sundipgill @tash_armstrong @steenvidebeck
