Does Curriculum Autonomy Support Student Autonomy? A R-Based Analysis

Abstract

The purpose of this study is to examine the relationship between middle school teachers' curriculum autonomy and their support for learner autonomy. A correlational survey design was used in the study. Data were collected through the Curriculum Autonomy Scale and the Supporting Learner Autonomy Scale. The sample of the study consisted of a total of 420 teachers working in middle schools in the central districts of a province in the Aegean region. Spearman's rho correlation tests and Quantile Regression analysis were used to analyze the sub-problems of the study. Based on the research data, it was concluded that there was a positive relationship between middle school teachers' curriculum autonomy and their perceptions of both the necessity and the exhibition of supporting learner autonomy. According to the results of the regression analysis, middle school teachers' curriculum autonomy is a significant predictor of their behaviors toward the necessity and demonstration of supporting learner autonomy. As a result, the curriculum autonomy behavior of the teacher positively affects the behavior of supporting learner autonomy. This research may have generalizability limitations when it is conducted with middle school teachers working in one province.

Keywords

• curriculum autonomy
• supporting learner autonomy
• teacher

References

1. Alpar, R. (2013). Uygulamalı çok değişkenli istatistiksel yöntemler (5th ed.). Detay Yayıncılık.
2. Amrein-Beardsley, A. (2009). The unintended, pernicious consequences of "staying the course" on the United States' no child left behind policy. International Journal of Education Policy and Leadership, 4(6), 1–13.
3. Asmari, A. (2013). Practices and prospects of learner autonomy: Teachers’ perceptions. English Language Teaching, 6(3). https://doi.org/10.5539/elt.v6n3p1
4. Basri, F. (2023). Factors influencing learner autonomy and autonomy support in a faculty of education. Teaching in Higher Education, 28(2), 270-285. https://doi.org/10.1080/13562517.2020.1798921
5. Black, A. E., & Deci, E. L. (2000). The effects of instructors’ autonomy support and students’ autonomous motivation on learning organic chemistry: A self-determination theory perspective. Science Education, 84(6), 740-756. https://doi.org/10.1002/1098-237X(200011)84:6<740::AID-SCE4>3.0.CO;2-3
6. Bümen, N. T. (2019). Türkiye’de merkeziyetçiliğe karşı özerklik kıskacında eğitim programları: Sorunlar ve öneriler. Kastamonu Eğitim Dergisi, 27(1), 175-185. https://doi.org/10.24106/kefdergi.2450
7. Büyüköztürk, Ş. (2019). Sosyal bilimler için veri analizi el kitabı (25th ed.). Pegem Akademi.
8. Büyüköztürk, Ş., Kılıç-Çakmak, E., Akgün, Ö. E., Karadeniz, Ş., & Demirel, F. (2017). Bilimsel Araştırma Yöntemleri (23rd ed.). Pegem Akademi.

9. Çapık, C. (2014). Geçerlik ve güvenirlik çalışmalarında doğrulayıcı faktör analizinin kullanımı. Anadolu Hemşirelik ve Sağlık bilimleri Dergisi, 17(3), 196-205.
10. Castle, K. (2004). The meaning of autonomy in early childhood teacher education. Journal of Early Childhood Teacher Education, 25(1), 3-10. https://doi.org/10.1080/1090102040250103
11. Creswell, J. W., & Creswell, J. D. Research design: Qualitative, quantitative, and mixed methods Approaches (6th ed.). SAGE Publications.
12. Çaylı, B. (2019). Zihinsel imaj oluşturma öğretiminin 3. Sınıf öğrencilerinin zihinsel imaj netliği üzerindeki etkisi ve sınıf öğretmenlerinin öğrenen özerkliğinin desteklenmesinin incelenmesi (Thesis No: 599598) [Master’s Thesis, Muğla Sıtkı Koçman University]. Turkish Council of Higher Education Theses Center.
13. Cebeci, Z. (2019). R ile parametrik olmayan istatistik analiz (1st ed.). Abaküs Kitap Yayın.
14. Cheng, D. (2021). Teachers are deprofessionalized when control of the curriculum is taken away from them: Discuss in relation to high school teachers in China. Review of Educational Theory, 4(4), 35-42. https://doi.org/10.30564/ret.v4i4.3539
15. Çibik, B. (2017). The effects of flipped clasroom model on learner autonomy. (Thesis No: 147645) [Master’s Thesis, Muğla Sıtkı Koçman University]. Turkish Council of Higher Education Theses Center.
16. Çolak, İ. (2016). The relationship between school climate and teacher autonomy (Muğla sample). (Thesis No: 448387) [Master’s Thesis, Muğla Sıtkı Koçman University]. Turkish Council of Higher Education Theses Center.
17. Çolak, İ., & Altınkurt, Y. (2017). Okul iklimi ile öğretmenlerin özerklik davranışları arasındaki ilişki. Kuram ve Uygulamada Eğitim Yönetimi, 23(1), 33-71. https://doi.org/10.17762/kuey.v23i1.87
18. Cotterall, S. (2000). Promoting learner autonomy through the curriculum: Principles for designing language courses. ELT Journal, 54(2), 109-117. http://dx.doi.org/10.1093/elt/54.2.109
19. De Almeida, S., & Viana, J. (2022). Teachers as curriculum designers: What knowledge is needed? The Curriculum Journal, 34(3), 357-374. https://doi.org/10.1002/curj.199
20. Dorji, T. (2023). Curriculum autonomy for Bhutanese schools : A fitting solution to the current crisis in Bhutanese education system. Indonesian Journal of Education and Social Sciences, 2(2), 133–139. https://doi.org/10.56916/ijess.v2i2.473
21. Ergin, S. (2016). Fen bilimleri öğretmenlerinin özerklik desteği ile öğrencinin akademik başarısı arasındaki ilişkinin saptanması. (Thesis No: 421496) [Master’s Thesis, Akdeniz University]. Turkish Council of Higher Education Theses Center.
22. Ergür, D. O. (2010, November 11-13). Öğrenen özerkliğinin kazandırılmasında öğretmenin rolü. [Tam Metin] International Conference on New Trends in Education and Their Implications, Ankara, 354-359.
23. Erss, M., Kalmus, V., & Autio, T.H. (2016) ‘Walking a fine line’: Teachers’ perception of curricular autonomy in Estonia, Finland and Germany, Journal of Curriculum Studies, 48(5), 589-609. https://doi.org/10.1080/00220272.2016.1167960
24. Eurydice (2007). Avrupa’ da okul özerkliği: Politikalar ve önlemler. Retrieved November 25, 2024 from http://eurydice.meb.gov.tr
25. Friedman, I.A. (1999). Teacher-perceived work autonomy: The concept and its measurement. Educational and Psychological Measurement, 59(1), 58-76. https://doi.org/10.1177/0013164499591005
26. Friedman, M. (2003). Autonomy, gender, politics (1st ed.). New York: Oxford University Press. Retrieved from https://books.google.com.tr/books
27. Fraenkel, J. R., & Wallen, N. E. (2005). How to design and evaluate research in education. McGraw-hill.
28. Frostenson, M. (2012). Lärarnas avprofessionalisering och autonomins mångtydighet [The deprofessionalisation of teachers and the ambiguity of autonomy]. Nordiske Organisasjonsstudier, 2, 49–78. Retrieved from https://nos.portfolio.no/
29. Fu, D., Liu, Y., & Zhang, D. (2023). The relationship between teacher autonomy support and student mathematics achievement: A 3-year longitudinal study. Educational Psychology, 43(2–3), 187–206. https://doi.org/10.1080/01443410.2023.2190064
30. Gómes, C. R. (2023). Risky Choices–Autonomy and Surveillance in Secondary English Classrooms. Teachers' Work, 20(2), 368-382. https://doi.org/10.24135/teacherswork.v20i2.615
31. Golzar, J., Noor, S., & Tajik, O. (2022). Convenience sampling. International Journal of Education & Language Studies, 1(2), 72-77. https://doi.org/10.22034/ijels.2022.162981
32. Güven, D. (2010). Profesyonel bir meslek olarak Türkiye’de öğretmenlik. Boğaziçi Üniversitesi Eğitim Dergisi, 27(2), 13-21. Retrieved from https://dergipark.org.tr/tr/pub/buje/issue/3832/51438
33. Hewitt, T.W. (2018). Eğitim programı uygulama. (Ş. Kayıhan, Çev.). S. Aslan, (Ed). Eğitimde program geliştirme: Neyi neden öğretiyoruz içinde. (ss. 253-272). Ankara: Nobel Akademi Yayıncılık. (Orijinal çalışmanın basım tarihi 2016).
34. Hong, W., & Youngs, P. (2014) Why are teachers afraid of curricular autonomy? Contradictory effects of the new national curriculum in South Korea, Asia Pacific Journal of Education, 36(1), 20-33. http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/02188791.2014.959471
35. Janhonen-Abruquah, H., Venäläinen, S., Malin, A., & Palojoki, P. (2020). Teacher autonomy and collaboration as part of integrative teaching – reflections on the curriculum approach in Finland. Journal of Curriculum Studies, 53(4), 546-562. https://doi.org/10.1080/00220272.2020.1759145
36. Kock, N. (2020). Harman’s single factor test in PLS-SEM: Checking for common method bias. Data Analysis Perspectives Journal, 2(2), 1-6.
37. Mammadov, S. & Schroeder, K. (2023). A meta-analytic review of the relationships between autonomy support and positive learning outcomes. Contemporary Educational Psychology, Volume 75 (2023). https://doi.org/10.1016/j.cedpsych.2023.102235
38. Morgado, J. C., & Sousa, F. (2010). Teacher evaluation, curricular autonomy and professional development: Trends and tensions in the Portuguese educational policy, Journal of Education Policy, 25(3), 369-384. https://doi.org/10.1080/02680931003624524
39. Nguyen, M., & Walkinshaw, I. (2018). Autonomy in teaching practice: Insights from Vietnamese English language teachers trained in inner-circle countries. Teaching and Teacher Education, 69, 21-32. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.tate.2017.08.015
40. Oğuz, A. (2013a). Öğrenen özerkliğini destekleme ölçeğinin geliştirilmesi. Kuram ve Uygulamada Eğitim Bilimleri, 13(4), 2177-2194.
41. Oğuz, A. (2013b). Öğretmenlerin öğrenen özerkliğinin desteklenmesine ilişkin görüşleri. Journal of Human Sciences, 10(1), 1273-1297.
42. Olsen, C. S., Clark, A. E., Thomas, A. M., & Cook, L. J. (2012). Comparing least‐squares and quantile regression approaches to analyzing median hospital charges. Academic Emergency Medicine, 19(7), 866-875. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1553-2712.2012.01388.x
43. O'Reilly, E. N. (2014). Correlations among perceived autonomy support, intrinsic motivation, and learning outcomes in an intensive foreign language program. Theory and Practice in Language Studies, 4(7), 1313-1318. https://doi.org/10.4304/tpls.4.7.1313-1318
44. Ornstein, A. C., & Hunkins, F. P. (2016). Eğitim programı temeller ilkeler ve sorunlar [Curriculum: Foundations, principles and ıssues](A. Arı, Çev. Ed.). Konya: Eğitim Yayınevi. (Orijinal kitabın yayın tarihi 1988).
45. Özdemir, M., Büyükgöze, H., Akman, Y., Topaloğlu, H., & Çiftçi, K. (2023). Distributed leadership and teachers' emotional labor: The mediating role of teacher autonomy. Journal of Educational Administration, 61(4), 405-422. https://doi.org/10.1108/jea-06-2022-0092
46. Öztürk, İ. H. (2011a). Öğretmen özerkliği üzerine kuramsal bir inceleme. Elektronik Sosyal Bilimler Dergisi, 10(35), 82-99. Retrieved from https://dergipark.org.tr/tr/pub/esosder/issue/6149/82567
47. Öztürk, İ. H. (2011b). Curriculum reform and teacher autonomy in Turkey: The case of the history teaching. International Journal of Instruction, 4(2), 113-128. Retrieved from https://dergipark.org.tr/en/pub/eiji/issue/5141/70060
48. Pallant, J. (2020). SPSS Kullanma Kılavuzu. (S. Balcı ve B. Ahi, Çev.; 3. baskı). Anı Yayıncılık. (Orijinal çalışma 2015'de yayımlandı).
49. Pearson, L. C., & Hall, B. W. (1993). Initial construct validation of the teaching autonomy scale. The Journal of Educational Research, 86(3), 172-178. Retrieved from https://www.jstor.org/stable/27541859
50. Podsakoff, P. M., Podsakoff, N. P., Williams, L. J., Huang, C., & Yang, J. (2024). Common method bias: It's bad, it's complex, it's widespread, and it's not easy to fix. Annual Review of Organizational Psychology and Organizational Behavior, 11(1), 17-61. https://doi.org/10.1146/annurev-orgpsych-110721- 040030
51. Sabancı, S. (2007). EFL Teachers’ views on learner autonomy at primary and secondary state schools in Eskişehir. (Thesis No: 205765) [Master’s Thesis, Anadolu University]. Turkish Council of Higher Education Theses Center.
52. Şentürken, C., & Oğuz, A. (2020). Ortaöğretim öğretmenlerinin özerklik davranışları ile iş doyumları arasındaki ilişki. OPUS–Uluslararası Toplum Araştırmaları Dergisi, 15(25), 3260-3283. https://doi.org/10.26466/opus.650115
53. Stratton, S. J. (2021). Population research: convenience sampling strategies. Prehospital and disaster Medicine, 36(4), 373-374. https://doi.org/10.1017/S1049023X21000649
54. Swatevacharkul, R. (2022). Perceptions of Thai EFL teachers at public schools in Nonthaburi, Thailand: Teacher autonomy and constraints. Rangsit Journal of Educational Studies, 9(2), 42-59. Retrieved from https://rsujournals.rsu.ac.th/index.php/RJES/article/view/2942/2264
55. Vangrieken, K., Grosemans, I., Dochy, F., & Kyndt, E. (2017). Teacher autonomy and collaboration: A paradox? Conceptualizing and measuring teachers' autonomy and collaborative attitude. Teaching and Teacher Education, 67, 302-315. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.tate.2017.06.021
56. Voogt, J., Nieveen, N., Thus, A., & Kuiper, W. (2018). Education and skills 2030: Curriculum analysis (Literature review on flexibility and autonomy). 8th Informal Working Group (IWG) Meeting (29-31 October 2018). OECD Conference Centre, Paris, France
57. Waldmann, E. (2018). Quantile regression: A short story on how and why. Statistical Modelling, 18(3-4), 203-218. https://doi.org/10.1177/1471082X18759142
58. Wermke, W., & Höstfält, G. (2014). Contextualizing teacher autonomy in time and space: A model for comparing various forms of governing the teaching profession. Journal of Curriculum Studies, 46(1), 58–80. https://doi.org/10.1080/00220272.2013.812681
59. Wu, S. (2015). Development and application of the measures of school value, teacher autonomy, and teacher motivation. The New Educational Review, 39(1), 240-250. https://doi.org/10.15804/tner.2015.39.1.20
60. Wu, Y., & Wu, F. (2018, December). The relationship between teacher autonomy and ICT competency of pre-service teachers. In 2018 Seventh International Conference of Educational Innovation through Technology (EITT) (pp. 11-15). IEEE.
61. Yazıcı, A. Ş. (2016). The relationship between the teacher autonomy and learner autonomy support behaviors. Eğitim Bilimleri Araştırmaları Dergisi - Journal of Educational Sciences Research, 6(2), 1-23.
62. Yolcu, O., & Akar-Vural, R. (2020). A scale development study on measuring science teachers' autonomy on curriculum. Uluslararası Eğitim Programları ve Öğretim Çalışmaları Dergisi, 10(1), 29-52. https://doi.org/10.31704/ijocis.2020.002
63. Yolcu, O. (2019). Ortaokul fen bilimleri öğretim programının stufflebeam değerlendirme modeli temelinde öğretmen özerkliği açısından incelenmesi. (Thesis No: 603087) [Doctoral Dissertation, Aydın Adnan Menderes University]. Turkish Council of Higher Education Theses Center.
64. Yuzulia, I. (2020). Efl teachers’ perceptions and strategies in implementing learner autonomy. Linguists Journal of Linguistics and Language Teaching, 6(1), 36. https://doi.org/10.29300/ling.v6i1.2744
65. Zhang, D., He, J., & Fu, D. (2021). How can we improve teacher’s work engagement? Based on Chinese experiences. Frontiers in Psychology, 12. https://doi.org/10.3389/fpsyg.2021.721450
66. Zhao, H. (2018). On teacher’s roles in developing learner autonomy. Proceedings of the 1st International Conference on Contemporary Education and Economic Development (CEED 2018). https://doi.org/10.2991/ceed-18.2018.15