The concept of teacher autonomy refers to the teacher’s views of professional independence in schools and especially the degree to which they can make autonomous decisions about what they teach and how. Jeffrey Kays (2016) viewed autonomy as Pavlovian and referred to autonomy as an axis that intersects with alignment. He stated that the degree of freedom that one is allowed to work reflects the autonomy axis, whereas the alignment axis reflects the degree of engagement in the outcomes and the understanding of the work activity. He argued that in order for a school to be successful through autonomy happens only if it is aligned. High autonomy and high alignment is the ‘aspirational quadrant’ that a school should strive for in order for teachers to create their path to an outcome. In other words, ‘Teaching others to fish’ is much more effective than ‘catching the fish’. His emphasis on leaders becoming the coaches supporting technique and being mindful of their impact of empowerment rather than insisting on doing it their way can be a powerful tool in a school’s success (Kays, 2016). We all know there are times that leaders do need to be transactional but that it requires a leader to be more prescriptive in the process and technique of the activity in order to provide safety and security for a teacher to grow in their competence and confidence. I once read an article from Jeffrey Kays that stated “As their skills grow, so should their autonomy to innovate and improve the manner by which things get done” (Kays, pg 2, 2016).
Teachers may be autonomous in the sense of emphasizing the strength in the personal responsibility of their teaching. The importance of teachers improving themselves through continuous reflection and valuing the control and effect of the teaching process is perhaps where autonomy should live. Tort-Maloney (1997) adopted a similar position for the most part when she stated that a teacher who is autonomous is aware of the why, when, where, and how the pedagogical skills can be attained through awareness of the teaching practice and impact. Teacher autonomy is related to teacher learning and how they should be developed in support of each other. Furthermore, autonomy is also related to efficacy, or the degree to which the teacher believes in one’s own capacity to affect student performance.
Teachers should possess freedom to handle all things using their own approach and be able to take control over any situation if it is for the right purpose. Autonomy can be viewed as a sense of overconfidence and self-importance that can be weighed down with emotions and therefore created a lack of depth and meaning to what individuals are trying to practice. This is where things can fall off the rails and teams can be disintegrated if we don’t realize that teaching is not a singular job. Professional autonomy and discretion reside collectively with the faculty. As Judith Warren Little states, “Teaching is everyone’s business, and each one’s success is everyone’s responsibility” (Little, 1990, p. 2) .
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