1.

Record Nr.

UNINA9910483300103321

Autore

Wermke Wieland

Titolo

The Autonomy Paradox: Teachers’ Perceptions of Self-Governance Across Europe / / by Wieland Wermke, Maija Salokangas

Pubbl/distr/stampa

Cham : , : Springer International Publishing : , : Imprint : Springer, , 2021

ISBN

9783030656027

3030656020

Edizione

[1st ed. 2021.]

Descrizione fisica

1 online resource (xiii, 178 pages) : illustrations

Disciplina

371.104

Soggetti

Teachers - Training of

International education

Comparative education

Educational sociology

Teaching and Teacher Education

International and Comparative Education

Sociology of Education

Lingua di pubblicazione

Inglese

Formato

Materiale a stampa

Livello bibliografico

Monografia

Nota di bibliografia

Includes bibliographical references.

Nota di contenuto

Chapter 1. Magic Potion -- Chapter 2. Unpacking Teacher Autonomy Theoretically -- Chapter 3. Context Matters -- Chapter 4. Investigating Autonomy Empirically -- Chapter 5. Teacher Autonomy Compared -- Chapter 6. Theorizing Teacher Autonomy from a Comparative Perspective.

Sommario/riassunto

What do we mean when we speak about teacher autonomy? How free are teachers to go about their work? To answer these complex questions the authors asked thousands of teachers in four national contexts: in Finland, Ireland, Germany and Sweden, what they think autonomy looks like. The resulting book examines teacher autonomy theoretically and empirically, comparing teachers’ perceptions of their professional autonomy. Utilizing a mixed method approach the authors combine data from a large-scale questionnaire study, teacher interviews, lesson and meeting observations, and workshops that brought together teachers from the four participating countries. All this



engagement with teachers revealed that simply increasing their professional autonomy might not lead to desired outcomes. This is because, from a teachers’ point of view, increased decision-making capacity brings further complexity and risk to their work, and it may instead lead to anxiety, self-restriction, and the eventual rejection of autonomy. These surprising conclusions challenge the increasingly orthodox view that increased autonomy is a desirable end in itself. This is what the authors call the autonomy paradox.