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Snarr, Loveland, Curtis, Moli 1

TEACHER AUTONOMY

2 June 2014

Ashley Loveland

Ashley Snarr

Alec Curtis

Joana Moli

Prepared for

Dr. Karen C. Holt

Brigham Young University-Idaho


Intro

Not everyone is born to teach, because it is not an easy job. At times it tears at a

person, but is also an amazing experience that has the potential to help a student grow and

learn. Teachers should have the right to say what happens in their classrooms and how

their students are taught. Autonomy can be a guide for teachers and can help bring

structure and organization to the classroom, but if not done properly it can hinder student

learning and progress. Looking at how teachers gain autonomy, how they feel about the

autonomy they are granted, how teacher autonomy affects the student learning process,

and how teacher autonomy relates to the common core standards as a whole will help to

expound upon the importance of teachers and how autonomy plays a significant role in

their lives.

Gaining Teacher Autonomy

Teachers today are finding it difficult to gain footing in their classrooms. In 2001,

the Bush administration signed off the No Child Left Behind Act. The act’s main focus is to

improve math, reading and writing through standardized testing. Every child in grades 6-8

is required by the national and state government to take these tests, and funding for their

school is determined according to the scores. Since this act has been implemented, is has

limited the autonomy of the teacher in their classroom. They are now required to “teach by

the test.” Other programs or subjects that aren’t necessarily required for these

examinations are often being cut from the school curriculum. This makes it harder for

teachers in certain disciplines like art, music, or any sort of extracurricular, dispensable.

For example, a 7th grade English teacher wanted to teach their students world

literature, such as a poem from Pablo Neruda. Most likely, that is not going to occur, as the


exam comes first, especially considering the fact that No Child Left Behind Act placed an

enormous amount of accountability on the school administration and its teachers. The

administrators are responsible for the hire of the teachers and if teachers fail to deliver the

expected results, the school suffers.

Limiting teachers on what they are able to teach or how to conduct their classrooms

are based on the act’s sections where it states that teachers are required to teach and only

teach in a way that has been scientifically proven to be effective. Not only has it limited

them on how to teach, but also on how to help their students. The No Child Left Behind Act

gutted bilingual education, making students whose first language isn’t English required to

perform at grade level after one year in the country. In a poem called “Rigged Game”, Dylan

Garity, a national poetry slam champion, writes about his sister, an ESL teacher in Boston.

He explains how his sister’s efforts to help her students are limited, as her students are

unable to read in Spanish, much less English, and she is unable to teach them the language.

He writes:

My sister tells me school is the most stable place in these kids’ lives. She has been a

teacher since she was smaller than they are. But since when does being a teacher

mean having to swear not to help? Since when does being a teacher mean having

your hands tied as the schoolhouse burns to the ground? (2)

Garity brings an excellent point. Teachers are like doctors. As doctors are required by oath

to help those who need their bodies to be healed, teachers take an implicit oath and are

responsible to help those improve their minds. How can they be expected do so when they

are not allowed to? Instead they are “teaching by the test,” churning out students to


perform on test by drilling and grinding them with endless exercises and work sheets. (see

figure 1)

Figure 1: Editorial Cartoon

Horsey, David. Standardized Testing. Seattle Post Intelligencer. 5 March 2004. 16 May

2014. Web.

How can teachers be effective in their classrooms if they are unable to make the decisions

that should take place? Society expects students to be enriched by their education. Ken

Robinson, a Professor of Education at the University of Warwick, makes a statement that

the way schools are operated is outdated: “They have set hours of operation and prescribed

rules of conduct. They are based on the principles of standardization and conformity” (57).

The mold that has been taken in lightly, now has an effect on teachers; they are unable to

break the mold forced upon them. Professor Robison continues to say that the lack of

autonomy in the classroom, as well as creativity, has a negative effect on the output of

students.


Typically, they move through the system in age groups: all five year olds together, all

the six year olds together and so on, as if the most important thing that children

have in common is their date of manufacture. (57)

Teachers are no longer teaching humans but robots. This is the result of a lack in teacher

autonomy, when emphasis is strained on main core subjects.

The Effect on Teachers

Many future teachers choose to go into teaching because of the influence of teachers

they had throughout their schooling. For example, I always knew I wanted to go into

education, but had no idea what specifically. That is, until my senior year. I was fortunate

enough to have Mr. Greg Hoetker as my senior English teacher, and his philosophy on

teaching changed my outlook on life. When asked about his feelings of teacher autonomy

and how the government is slowly starting to restrict the amount of control a teacher has

over the curriculum in the classroom, he said the following:

In my position, teaching literature and language and the free exchange of ideas,

autonomy is key. It is one of the reasons I switched back from middle to high school.

If I didn't have autonomy, I would leave the profession. You can't put a price on it.

Teacher autonomy, in my view, breeds student autonomy, and, as a result, self-

growth. Worksheets cannot do this. Factual recall cannot do this. Those are static

and they limit possibilities. That's why I create as many what I call "infinite

assignments" as I can, for my classes--assignments that have a common context or

theme but are infinite, in terms of what the students produce. Skits, films,

discussions, children's books, etc.--these all fit that context. My autonomy in

teaching and creating assignments such as these allows students to have autonomy


in producing results, cool and meaningful results, results not easily measurable or

quantifiable but results that echo in students' minds. (Hoetker)

Many teachers are starting to experience the constrictions of the changing curriculums, and

it is limiting the amount of autonomy they have over what they teach their students.

Samuel A. Culbert, a professor in the Anderson School of Management at the

University of California, recognizes the importance of giving teachers freedom in the

classroom. “The way to make stars out of teachers,” he states, “is to let teachers be stars.” In

order for a teacher to be a “star teacher,” they need to be allowed to be creative and

innovative with their teaching. The world is always changing, so why shouldn’t the

education system. Teachers are required to be flexible with their teaching strategies, and

taking away their autonomy is taking away their ability to be flexible. Culbert argues that

many principals today are mainly choosing teachers that could benefit them the most, and

this forcing prospective teachers to silence their “independent voice” and focus on doing

whatever their employer wants them to do. Because they are forced to do this in order to

keep their job, they are unable to give beneficial suggestions on how to improve the way

students are learning. When a teacher is mainly focusing on serving the principals, they

forget about the students and the learning that should be taking place in the classroom. It is

imperative that politics stay out of education and have the principals pick teachers that are

most qualified for the job rather than a teacher that could benefit them the most.

It is fairly obvious that being a teacher is not a job that pays very well, and because

of this, many people wonder why exactly one might choose to go into this profession.

Plenty of teachers do it simply because they enjoy teaching people and seeing others

succeed, while others go into teaching because of the freedom that the job includes. But


recently, it has become apparent that teachers are deeply unhappy with their increasing

lack of control and authority in their teaching. There are plenty of schools that are making a

push towards standardized testing and creating ineffective incentives for higher test

scores.

Earlier this year, for example, investigators alleged that more than a dozen Atlanta

educators, including teachers, principals, and the former superintendent of schools,

were involved in cheating on the state test. In some instances, teachers appeared to

have erased students’ wrong answers and filled in the correct ones. (Boser)

It is impossible to decide what exactly a teacher should teach their students or create a set

curriculum for each subject. Doing so simply creates limitations.

Some teachers may say that they have some form of control when teaching, but that

the decisions they make in the classroom must be within a set boundary of various policies

that are determined by outside forces. Many reporters and researchers are not asking the

right questions when researching the satisfaction levels of teachers concerning the amount

of control given in the school. Yes, teachers may have the autonomy to choose what

happens within their classroom as far as rules and lesson plans, but did these choices have

any sort of impact outside the classroom. Amy Junge, an elementary and middle school

teacher and assistant principal currently taking a break to raise her three children, said the

following commentary concerning the teacher’s autonomy outside of the classroom, “The

district always chose the curriculum, my principal always supplied the budget, and the

school rules were well established before my arrival” (Chaltain). When talking about

teacher autonomy, we need to be more specific between inside the classroom and outside

the classroom. Farris-Berg, the author of Trusting Teachers With School Success, realizes


that researchers are twisting the data received in various analyses, and points out that “It is

probably more accurate to say that the (CAP) findings show that many teachers say they

control what happens in their classroom within the boundaries of policies that have

already been determined by other parties” (Berry). As far as teaching the students inside

the classroom, teachers have a fair amount of autonomy; but outside the classroom with

the administration, teachers’ satisfaction with the autonomy allowed dramatically

decreases, in addition to the amount of influence a teacher has on not only the students, but

also on the other teachers and administrators.

The Effect on Students

Teachers have more of an effect on students than most people realize. In a poem by

Taylor Mali titled “What Teachers Make” he explains the role of teachers and what exactly

they do make:

I mean, you’re a teacher, Taylor. Be honest. What do you make? And I wish he hadn’t

done that— asked me to be honest— because, you see, I have this policy about

honesty and [butt]-kicking: if you ask for it, then I have to let you have it. You want

to know what I make? I make kids work harder than they ever thought they could. I

can make a C+ feel like a Congressional Medal of Honor and an A feel like a slap in

the face…I make parents see their children for who they are and what they can be.

You want to know what I make? I make kids wonder, I make them question. I make

them criticize. I make them apologize and mean it. I make them write. I make them

read, read, read. I make them spell definitely beautiful, definitely beautiful, definitely

beautiful over and over and over again until they will never misspell either one of

those words again. I make them show all their work in math and hide it on their final


drafts in English. I make them understand that if you’ve got this, then you follow

this, and if someone ever tries to judge you by what you make, you give them this.

Here, let me break it down for you, so you know what I say is true: Teachers make a

[goshdang] difference! Now what about you?

Teachers do make a difference in a student’s life. A good teacher does push a student to be

better and do better, and a teacher can help a student become a better version of

themselves and can help them be prepared for life. This is why teachers are so vital, but

also why autonomy for the teacher is so important. If a teacher does not feel they are not

being treated equally or fairly why then would they work to the best of their ability or as

hard as they possibly can when they are not receiving the respect and benefit they deserve

for that hard work.

Autonomy for a teacher is not a bad thing. It does help set boundaries and guidelines

for the teacher and the classroom, which can enhance the learning experience for a student,

but it can result in a bad thing when a teacher’s autonomy is taken from them or when

there are too many restrictions. Johnmarshall Reeves, a Professor in the Department of

Education at Korea University, inserts in his paper title “Teachers as Facilitators: What

Autonomy-Supportive Teachers Do and Why Their Students Benefit” that “autonomy-

supportive environments involve and nurture (rather than neglect and frustrate) students’

psychological needs, personal interests, and integrated values” (228). Having an autonomy-

based classroom can help the students build their potential and enhance their learning

when the autonomy is justly granted. Teachers do have a right to say what needs to happen

in the classroom, as a teacher they are there to assess and understand their students and

help them learn in the most beneficial way. Teachers need the ability to change or tweak a


concept in order to make the atmosphere of learning the best one, but they cannot have

complete control over everything, there still needs to be some rules. Marshall explains:

Students in classrooms taught by autonomy-supportive teachers, compared to

students in classrooms taught by controlling teachers, experience an impressive and

meaningful range of positive educational outcomes, including greater perceived

competence higher mastery motivation, enhanced creativity, a preference for

optimal challenge over easy success, increased conceptual understanding, active

and deeper information processing, greater engagement, positive emotionality,

higher intrinsic motivation, enhanced well-being, better academic performance, and

academic persistence rather than dropping out of school. (228)

A teacher-autonomy supportive environment does enhance a students learning process

and helps them understand at a higher level with a higher recollection of the concepts they

are learning. When teachers understand the autonomy they hold and how it works in effect

with their style of teaching and how it can be of help to the students, it can really enhance

the students learning process.

As mentioned earlier autonomy is a good thing for teachers but it can also hinder a

teacher and the students. In Kevin Carey’s, the director of the education policy program at

the New America Foundation, article “The Teacher Autonomy Paradox” he explains that

“the real problem in public education isn't too little teacher autonomy—it's too much. As a

result, teachers are undervalued, underpaid, and becoming more so by the year.

Paradoxically, only by relinquishing some autonomy will teachers finally be able to attain

the true professional status they deserve.” Students need teachers that feel like they are

valued, when a teacher feels valued they want to do the best they can at their job and they


put everything they have into their work, which can only benefit the students learning

process even more.

Autonomy pushes a fine line between too much and too little. When given the right

amount of autonomy a teacher can benefit the students so much more than realized. Like in

Mali’s poem, teachers make a difference in a student’s life so they need the ability to have

freedom in a classroom but autonomy is also there to insure the students and teachers’

freedom and support. When autonomy is given in a just way it has the potential to help, but

when there is too much autonomy it can hinder the teacher’s students.

Common Core

While teacher autonomy is an incredibly hot topic for debate it becomes even more

controversial as government programs are implemented that affect that freedom that the

teachers crave so universally. Common Core is under intense scrutiny because of the

assumption that it takes away the autonomy of teachers in their classroom forcing them to

teach to the test. Diana Pullin a professor at the University of Iowa and an expert in areas of

teacher performance assessment pointed out that these “… new initiatives create a tension

between government, seeking to perform its public responsibility through efforts to reform

education, and higher education, seeking to improve education while insuring its integrity

as a forum for the free pursuit and exchange of knowledge.” (Pullin). It is clear that one of

the main issues brought up is how to balance this autonomy that is so greatly sought after

with the accountability that is necessary to maintain order.

Freedom in the classroom has been debated for years on a national level. Pullin

explained that educational institutions assumed the nation’s First Amendment right to

freedom of speech includes academic freedom. She clarifies that the Supreme Court “has


never explicitly found that the First Amendment guarantees individual faculty a ‘right’ to

academic freedom. However, the Court has given strong recognition to the importance of

academic freedom” (Pullin). The Supreme Court has reviewed the argument referring back

to the Constitution’s protection of the freedom of speech concerning education. In the past,

the courts have placed restraints on faculty members on matters regarding their

curriculum in specific classrooms, if it significantly impacts the main goals of the institution

(Pullin).

While the nation fears that Common Core will take away this freedom in the

classroom that is so highly prized, the government insists that it will not. In the

governments main web page for Common Core it expresses multiple times that it will not

take away any freedom from the teachers. The website specifically states “Teachers will

devise their own lesson plans and curriculum, and tailor their instruction to the individual

needs of the students in their classrooms” (Common Core). They also emphasize that states

will individually decide how they apply and integrate the new standards into the current

standards that the States already possess. The purpose of this program is to get all students

throughout the country at the same level in each of the subjects. By setting “standards” or

“benchmarks,” these will help to unify the school system and put the students on the same

level for when they graduate and go to college. This system was adopted in order to relate

to international schools and the levels students should be at. These standards are

expressed for the purpose of being a “roadmap for successful classrooms.” They specifically

do not provide required books to read; instead they give examples to help the teachers

prepare. All of this is done with the intent of keeping the teachers autonomy, allowing them

to teach the material however they feel is best so they can help their students obtain the


skills necessary to be at the level they are supposed to be at (Common Core).

Dennis Patrick O’Hara a professor at University of St. Michaels College explained

“Research has found that teachers have, quite dramatically, changed their practice in light

of statewide testing. These studies reveal that teachers tend to give more attention to the

content of tests in their daily lesson” (O’Hara). While it may not be intentional, it is

suggested that implementing these new standards and tests by which the teachers will be

monitored will inadvertently force teachers to teach towards the content in the tests for

the sake of their own jobs. O’Hara’s belief is that these reforms and other reforms the

government has done do not treat teachers as “high-skill, high capacity knowledge

workers” but rather as mindless and obedient workers who will help to improve the

standardized tests. This affects the teachers profoundly, influencing their ability to teach

according to the needs of the students (O’Hara).

Richard Ingersoll, Professor of Education andBoard of Overseers Chair of Education,

has agreed with O’Hara’s sentiment. He says, “Critics are dismayed that test results will still

be used to help evaluate teachers, a requirement that school districts have railed against as

imprecise and unfair” (Ingersoll). He points out that the government believes that in order

for reform to be effective, they must emphasize an increase in accountability. While they

leave it up to the state, they set higher national standards as a way to increase

accountability.

The struggle seems to be accountability verses autonomy. Is it possible for both to

be satisfied? Marianne Coleman, a doctor of comparative education, identified

accountability as “being required to give an account of events or behavior in a school or

college to those who may have a legitimate right to know” (Katz). The purpose of Common


Core is to require that accountability in order to improve the education in America; both

autonomy and accountability are needed. Coleman described the importance of each:

“accountability leads to control while autonomy fosters the release of human potential”

(Katz). Common Core attempts to keep that balance. It adds standards that help the

organization of education around the United States, but also attempts to keep teachers

autonomous by letting them decide how to teach material and what material to teach. This

is all done to help students become proficient and meet the standards that have been set.

The drawback is that it may inadvertently cause the teachers to teach more for the test

rather than for the students. As teachers realize that their job security to an extent depends

on the performance of their students on these tests, it may easily lead to a washing out of

teachers as they struggle to transition to this new reform.

Conclusion

“Denying the existence of a problem doesn’t make it go away.” It is rather obvious

that the education system today is deeply flawed, and that it will not change overnight. In

order to start making some sort of progress towards a better, more fulfilling education

system, administrators need to focus on the amount of teacher autonomy, not only inside

the classroom but outside as well. Once we realize that the amount of control a teacher has

over their curriculum directly affects the students’ learning abilities, we will be able to

focus on how to increase the amount of control both the teacher and students have in the

classroom and school.


Works Cited

Berry, Barnett. "Teacher Autonomy and Teaching Quality: Putting More Think into the

Think Tank." Center For Teaching Quality. (2014): n.p. Web. 10 May 2014.

Boser, Ulrich, and Robert Hanna. "In the Quest to Improve Schools, Have Teachers Been

Stripped of Their Autonomy?" Center for American Progress. (2014): 1-21. Web. 10

May 2014.

Carey, Kevin. “The Teacher Autonomy Paradox.” American Institute for Research. Sep. 2008.

Web. 27 May 2014.

Chaltain, Sam. "Teachers Feel Like They Have a Voice in Schools? Says Who?" Of, By, For: In

Search of the Civic Mission of K-12 Schools. Education Week. 27 Jan. 2014. Web. 28

May 2014.

Common Core State Standards Initiative. Common Core State Standards Initiative. Web. 27

May 2014.

Culbert, Samuel. "Allow More Autonomy." New York Times. 28 March 2011, n.p. Print.

Garity, Dylan. “Rigged Game.” Huffington Post. 13 Mar. 2013. Web. 26 May 2014.

Hoetker, Greg, e-mail message to author, 28 May 2014.

Ingersoll, Richard M. “Teachers' Decision-Making Power and School Conflict” Sociology of

Education. American Sociological Association. Apr. 1996. Web. 8 May 2014.

Katz, Eva, and Marianne Coleman. "Autonomy And Accountability Of Teacher-Educator

Researchers At A College Of Education In Israel." Innovations In Education &

Teaching International 42.1 (2005): 5-13. Academic Search Premier. Web. 8 May

2014.

Mali, Taylor. “What Teachers Make.” What Learning Leaves. 2002. Web. 27 May 2014.


O'Hara, Dennis Patrick. "Teacher Autonomy: Why do teachers want it, and how do

principals determine who deserves it?" Scholarly Commons. 1 Jan. 2006. Web. 9 May

2014.

Pullin, Diana. "Accountability, Autonomy, And Academic Freedom In Educator Preparation

Programs." Journal Of Teacher Education 55.4 (2004): 300-312. Academic Search

Premier. Web. 8 May 2014.

Reeve, Johnmarshall. “Teachers as Facilitators: What Autonomy‐Supportive Teachers Do

and Why Their Students Benefit.” The Elementary School Journal. The University of

Chicago Press. Jan. 2006. Web. 8 May 2014.

Robinson, Ken. Out of Our Minds. Capstone. 2011. Print.

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