The autonomy perceptions, experiences, and aspirations of teachers in the Philippine public school system from different career path designations

• Main Author: Ibarra, Julio Diego A.
• Format: text
• Language: English
• Published: Animo Repository 2024
• Subjects: Teaching, Freedom of—Philippines; Educational Administration and Supervision
• Online Access: https://animorepository.dlsu.edu.ph/etdm_counseling/16; https://animorepository.dlsu.edu.ph/context/etdm_counseling/article/1017/viewcontent/The_autonomy_perceptions_experiences_and_aspirations_of_teacher.pdf
• Institution: De La Salle University

The study used a multi-site case study to explore teachers' conceptions and experiences of autonomy pressent in their professional work. The participants consist of six teachers under the Basic Teacher Career pathway, three teachers under the Classroom Teaching Career pathway, and three teachers from the School Administration Career pathway in the Philippine public school system. Data was collected using a semi-structured interview developed by the author. A reflexive thematic analysis and a cross-case analysis were utilized to analyze the data. The results reveal that teachers have roles involving the development of materials, facilitation of classes, student management, student monitoring, teacher support and mentorship, management of resources, and program implementation. Teachers' conceptions of teacher autonomy is focused on roles in the classroom involving control over the design of educational content, flexibility in instructional implementation, and decision-making power in the management of students. Teachers reported that their autonomy was facilitated when they were allowed to design learning resources, decide on classroom facilitation, delegate to lead school programs, and entrusted to coach and mentor peers. Teachers’ autonomy was impeded by pressure from their superiors and their peers, being overloaded and given insufficient time to accomplish tasks, and being restricted in terms of developing learning materials and finances when it comes to the management of resources. The results revealed that the experience of autonomy elicit positive affective, cognitive, and behavioral consequences in teachers. Lastly, teachers still aspire to grade students, facilitate classes without interference, develop learning materials more freely, do less administrative work, and have more control over the implementation of school programs and training.