ERIC ED604418: Teacher Autonomy: How Does It Relate to Job Satisfaction and Retention?

1.2 MB·English

by  ERIC

Teacher autonomy: how does it relate
to job satisfaction and retention?
Jack Worth and Jens Van den Brande
Acknowledgements
We are very grateful for the support of the We also thank the Institute of Physics for hosting
Teacher Development Trust, who arranged the roundtable, and the participants for attending
the practitioner focus group and contributed and giving us their feedback on the research,
their knowledge of teacher professional from: the Department for Education, Ofsted,
development to the project. We thank the NAHT, National Education Union, NASUWT,
teachers and senior leaders who participated in Chartered College of Teaching, National
the focus group very much for giving up their Association of School-Based Teacher Trainers
time to give their feedback on the research. (NASBTT), Confederation of School Trusts and
Ambition Institute.
Published in January 2020 by: In partnership with the Teacher Development Trust.
National Foundation for Educational Research
The Mere, Upton Park, Slough SL1 2DQ
www.nfer.ac.uk
© 2020 National Foundation for Educational Research
Registered Charity No. 313392
ISBN: 978-1-911039-98-3
How to cite this publication:
Worth, J. and Van den Brande, J. (2020) Teacher
autonomy: how does it relate to job satisfaction and
retention? Slough: NFER.
02 wwwwww..nnffeerr..aacc..uukk
Overview
Retaining more teachers is crucial for the education system when there are not
enough teachers coming in to the profession to meet the growing need from rising
pupil numbers. Unmanageable workload and low job satisfaction are significant
factors determining teachers’ decision to stay in the profession or leave.
Our research is the first large-scale quantitative School leaders and the Department for Education
study to look at teacher autonomy and its should consider how to adapt policy and
importance for retention in England. We find practice to harness the benefits of teachers
that teacher autonomy is strongly correlated having greater involvement in their professional
with job satisfaction, perceptions of workload development goal-setting and making decisions
manageability and intention to stay in the more widely.
profession. We also find that the average teacher
has a lower level of autonomy compared to
similar professionals.
Teachers’ autonomy over their professional
development goal-setting is particularly low,
and is the most associated with higher job
satisfaction. Increasing teachers’ autonomy,
particularly over their professional development
goals, therefore has great potential for
improving teacher job satisfaction and retention.
www.nfer.ac.uk 03
Key findings Recommendations
z Teachers are 16 percentage points less likely z Teacher autonomy is strongly associated
than similar professionals to report having ‘a with improved job satisfaction and a greater School leaders
lot’ of influence over how they do their job intention to stay in teaching
School leaders should consider
The average teacher in England also reports While correlation does not necessarily imply incorporating a teacher autonomy
a lower level of autonomy over what tasks a causal relationship, these associations lens to regular reviews of teaching
they do, the order in which they carry strongly suggest that teacher autonomy is and learning policies.
out tasks, the pace at which they work an important influence on job satisfaction
and their working hours, compared to and retention. Teacher autonomy is also School leaders should explore
similar professionals. strongly associated with workload being how teachers can be meaningfully
more manageable, but is not associated with involved and engaged in the way
z 38 per cent of teachers say that they working hours. the school defines its organisational
have ‘a little’ or ‘no’ influence over their development priorities and makes
professional development goals z Increasing teachers’ reported influence over decisions more widely.
their professional development (PD) goals
Teachers also report relatively low autonomy from ‘some’ to ‘a lot’ is associated with a
over assessment and feedback, pupil data nine‑percentage‑point increase in intention
collection and curriculum content in their to stay in teaching
phase or subject. Teachers report relatively Department for Education (DfE)
high autonomy in areas associated with This presents a significant opportunity for
classroom management and practice, such school leaders to consider how they design The DfE should produce guidance
as classroom layout, teaching methods, and deliver PD in their schools, harnessing around the Teacher CPD Standards to
planning and preparing lessons, use of the benefits of increased motivation from emphasise how teachers can be given
classroom time and rules for behaviour. teachers having greater involvement in their greater involvement in designing
PD goal-setting. content, processes and goals.
z Teacher autonomy is lower among early
career teachers and higher among The DfE should embed the principles
senior leaders of teacher autonomy into the
implementation of the Early
In general, teachers who stay in the Career Framework. When rolled
classroom after their first five years do not out, the framework should act as
experience increased autonomy as their a ‘menu’ for early‑career teachers’
careers progress and are likely to only if they professional development, rather than
enter leadership roles. a ‘prescription’.
04 www.nfer.ac.uk
About this research
Aims of the research z How has teachers’ professional autonomy We compare state-sector teachers in England
changed over time? to individuals in other professional occupations
England’s school system faces a substantial with similar characteristics and measure how
and growing challenge of ensuring there are z Does a greater sense of professional autonomy has changed over time, as the survey
sufficient numbers of high-quality teachers autonomy relate to higher job satisfaction has regularly included questions on autonomy
employed in schools. At a time when and retention in teaching? since 2009 (see the methodology appendix for
recruitment to secondary teacher training is further details).
below the required level, retaining teachers in z In which aspects of their practice do
the profession plays a pivotal role in teacher teachers feel they have least and most Second, we analyse data from NFER’s
supply. The proportion of working-age autonomy over? nationally representative Teacher Voice survey.
teachers leaving the profession has risen In March 2019, we asked a sample of state-sector
from 5.8 per cent in 2011 to 8.3 per cent in 2018. In the light of our findings, we draw out the teachers and middle leaders in England about
implications for policy and practice and their autonomy in specific areas of classroom
Our previous research has demonstrated that make recommendations for school leaders practice, as well as their job satisfaction and
teachers’ engagement and job satisfaction are and policymakers. intention to leave teaching. Asking about
key factors explaining why many teachers leave teachers’ perceived influence over different
the profession (Lynch et al., 2016; Worth et al., Data and methodology aspects of their practice gives greater insight
2018). Previous research has drawn a strong link into the nuance of teachers’ sense of their
between autonomy and job satisfaction in many We explore teachers’ professional autonomy professional autonomy. It also helps identify
occupations. Our research is the first large-scale using data from two surveys. the areas of teachers’ practice where extending
quantitative study in England to look at teacher their autonomy is likely to be most effective for
autonomy1 and its importance for retention. First, we analyse data from the UK Household improving teacher satisfaction and retention.
Longitudinal Study (UKHLS), which is also
We aim to answer these five research questions: known as Understanding Society (University Further detail on the data and methodology used
of Essex, et al., 2018). The household survey in this report is in the methodology appendix.
z How does teacher autonomy compare to asks respondents about their self-reported
those in other professional occupations? work-related autonomy, as well as other aspects
of their work such as job satisfaction and
z How does teacher autonomy differ between working hours.
types of teachers and schools?
1 By autonomy, we mean the capacity to make informed decisions and/or act independently. The term ‘agency’ is also used in the research literature to refer to a similar, although
not identical, concept. Another occasionally used term is ‘job control’ (see for example, Bryson et al., 2019). We use the term ‘autonomy’, following the convention used by
self-determination theory (Deci and Ryan, 2008) and the Taylor Review of Modern Working Practices (HM Government, 2018).
www.nfer.ac.uk 05
Autonomy plays an important role in teachers’ motivation
and professionalism
One of the most important challenges facing Deci and Ryan outline three basic psychological
any employer or leader is deciding how best to needs that underpin intrinsic motivation: Competence Autonomy Relatedness
create working conditions that maximise staff
motivation to perform well in their role. This z Competence – skills to perform well in
challenge is easier where staff are intrinsically one’s job
motivated to perform well at what leaders want
them to achieve. However, some degree of z Autonomy – direction over one’s own
direction is always necessary and staff being decisions and actions
Intrinsic motivation
extrinsically motivated is where leaders enforce
their direction through some form of regulation, z Relatedness – connection with, and support
control or reward/ punishment system. from, colleagues.
Self-determination theory (Deci and Ryan, The theory suggests that these needs are
2008) provides a theoretical framework for interdependent. In other words, intrinsic
Satisfaction and retention
understanding motivation and its implications motivation is likely to increase more if you
for staff. The theory hypothesises that while have all three (competence, autonomy and
Job performance
both forms of motivation can drive job relatedness) at the same time. One implication
performance, they have different implications of this interdependence is that too much
for staff well-being and job satisfaction. autonomy for novices risks overwhelming Burnout and stress
Staff working in conditions that emphasise them, as they are early in the process of
a greater reliance on intrinsic motivation establishing their competence and forming
are thought to be more likely to have high working relationships.
well-being and job satisfaction, and be more
likely to stay. Conversely, greater reliance This theory of motivation underlies our interest
on extrinsic motivation is thought to risk in the professional autonomy of teachers and Extrinsic motivation
undermining staff members’ sense of feeling our findings support the theory that there is
trusted and their own intrinsic motivation, a positive relationship between autonomy,
potentially leading to disengagement, burnout job satisfaction and retention.
and leaving.
Regulation Rewards
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There is limited existing evidence on teacher autonomy and
its importance for retention in England
The existing base of large-scale quantitative Teachers in England’s secondary schools are However, teachers in independent schools were
evidence on our research questions on teacher characterised as having an above-average more likely to say they had the autonomy they
autonomy, especially focusing on England, is level of autonomy, with several countries such needed, and teachers in schools rated requires
very limited. This study is, to our knowledge, as Estonia, Italy, Iceland, Czech Republic and improvement or inadequate by Ofsted less likely.
the first to provide large-scale quantitative Denmark having higher levels.
evidence on the self-reported autonomy of Filling the evidence gap
England’s teachers and answers to the research However, the autonomy measure is based on
questions we identify. We summarise some of headteachers’ perceptions of teachers’ exertion We aim to fill the significant evidence gap in
the previous research that relates to our study. of decision-making authority. This may not be quantitative research on teacher autonomy in
a reliable guide to how teachers themselves England. The next sections of the report present
Existing quantitative research feel about their influence over their own work. our findings and draw out the implications for
Indeed, England’s secondary teachers had the school leaders and policymakers.
Skaalvik and Skaalvik (2014) measure lowest level of agreement with the statement “this
work-related autonomy among Norwegian school provides staff with opportunities to actively Proportion of lower secondary school teachers agreeing
teachers and find a positive association between participate in school decisions” among all the that their school provides staff with opportunities to
perceived autonomy and job satisfaction, and countries that took part in TALIS 2013 (see chart, actively participate in school decisions (%)
a negative association between autonomy comparing England and selected countries).
Norway 83
and burnout. This confirms the theoretical
prediction that autonomy is associated with The 2013 TALIS survey included an England-only Estonia 83
positive teacher outcomes. Other studies have question on teachers’ autonomy. Teachers in Alberta (Canada) 81
also demonstrated this relationship with positive lower secondary schools were asked their
Japan 76
outcomes among UK workers more generally extent of agreement with the statement: “I do
Finland 75
(for example, Wheatley (2017), which uses the not have the autonomy I need to do a good
same UKHLS-based measures as in this study). job as a teacher.” Seven out of ten teachers Singapore 75
(71 per cent) disagreed or strongly disagreed, Netherlands 71
The OECD conceptualises teacher professionalism implying that they do have the autonomy they
Australia 64
similarly to self-determination theory, as need to do a good job (Micklewright et al., 2014).
England 57
encompassing a teacher’s knowledge base,
peer networks and autonomy. The OECD’s The responses did not differ substantially 0% 20% 40% 60% 80% 100%
report on teacher professionalism presents by teacher gender, age, subject or type of
cross-country data on all three domains state-funded school. Source: OECD Teaching and Learning International
Survey (TALIS) 2013
from the 2013 OECD Teaching and Learning
International Survey (TALIS) (OECD, 2016).
www.nfer.ac.uk 07
Teachers have a lower level of professional autonomy compared to
other professions
Using data from the UKHLS, we compare We find that teachers report a lower level of Overall the average teacher has a lower level
the self-reported autonomy of teachers autonomy over their working hours relative of autonomy for every aspect of work that
with a group of individuals in professional to similar professionals: half of teachers is measured by the survey, compared to
occupations (including scientists, researchers, report having no autonomy, compared to only similar professionals. All the differences are
engineers, doctors, nurses, lawyers, librarians) 15 per cent of similar professionals. This is statistically significant. The autonomy gap
to benchmark teaching within a wider to be expected, given the set term times and between teachers and other professionals
context. We adjust the composition of age, school hours when teachers are required to be (the likelihood of reporting ‘a lot’ of influence) is:
gender, region and highest qualification in the teaching. In contrast, more than half of teachers
group of professionals to ensure that these report that they have ‘a lot’ or ‘some’ autonomy z 19 percentage points over the pace at which
characteristics are as similar as possible to the over the pace of their work, job tasks, task they work (work pace)
group of teachers (see appendix for details). order and work manner.
z 12 percentage points over what tasks they do
In your current job, how much influence do you have over your ... (proportion of respondents, %) (job tasks)
Work Professionals 2 7 28 62 z 20 percentage points over the order in which
manner Teachers 2 12 40 46 they carry out tasks (task order)
Task Professionals 2 6 27 64 z 16 percentage points over how they do their
order Teachers 4 15 37 44 job (work manner).
Job Professionals 7 13 36 44 Teacher autonomy is likely to be influenced, at
tasks Teachers 8 18 42 32
least in part, directly by the nature of the job
of teaching. However, we should be cautious
Work Professionals 7 13 33 47
about interpreting the findings as the impact
pace Teachers 14 23 35 28
of the teaching job, because the comparisons
Work Professionals 15 18 31 36 presented here may also reflect other
hours Teachers 51 23 17 9 underlying differences between those who go
into teaching and those who do not.
0% 10% 20% 30% 40% 50% 60% 70% 80% 90% 100%
None A little Some A lot
Source: NFER analysis of UKHLS data
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Among professionals, only health professionals report less autonomy
than state‑sector teachers
Comparing teachers to the overall average for Comparing average autonomy among teachers and other professionals in the public and private sectors
other professions masks variation between (1 = ‘none, 4= ‘a lot’)
occupations within the group of professional
occupations. The data shows that there is
Business and statistical professionals
considerable variation in autonomy between
Librarians and related professionals
different occupations groups.
Research professionals
However, it confirms that the level of autonomy Information and communication technology
among state-sector teachers is relatively Engineering professionals
low: only state-sector health professionals Legal professionals
(which includes doctors, nurses and other
Architects, town planners, surveyors
medical professions) have a lower average
Science professionals
autonomy level. Public service professionals
Public service professionals
(i.e. civil servants) have a similar autonomy level
Teachers
to teachers. Among both public-sector teachers
Health professionals
and health professionals, their private-sector
counterparts report a slightly higher autonomy
2.0 2.5 3.0 3.5 4.0
level (though the differences are small).
Public sector Private sector
The autonomy gap between teachers and other
professionals in the four areas that are not Note: combined autonomy measure, based on the average reported autonomy across work pace, job tasks, task order
related to working hours may, at least in part, and work manner. We exclude autonomy over working hours from this measure due to the different circumstances of
reflect structural differences that are unique to teachers compared to other professionals.
Source: NFER analysis of UKHLS data
teaching. The nature of teaching and national
or school-imposed curriculum requirements
may impose constraints on teachers’ influence
over their job tasks, task order and work However, there is considerable variation
pace that do not apply in the same way in between individuals within teaching, implying
other professions (although there are also that there is scope for the profession as a whole
specialist requirements that are specific to to increase autonomy, even in the absence of
other professions). major changes to the structure of teaching.
www.nfer.ac.uk 09
The teacher autonomy gap compared to other professions
is a long‑standing one
The overall findings so far are based on Comparing levels of autonomy among teachers and other professionals for aspects of work across four biennial surveys,
averages across the four survey waves in which showing proportion reporting ‘a lot’ of autonomy (%)
these questions featured: every two years
between 2010–11 and 2016–17. We find that the
100
level of professional autonomy among both
teachers and similar professionals has not
changed significantly during this period from
80
2010–11 to 2016–17.
The size of the autonomy gap between teachers 60
and other professionals is a long-standing
one, not one that has emerged recently.
This suggests that teacher autonomy in 40
England has not been significantly affected
by policy changes since 2010. For example, the
increase in school autonomy since 2010 through 20
the growth of academy schools does not seem
to have resulted in any changes to the overall
levels of teacher autonomy. 0
1 3 5 7 1 3 5 7 1 3 5 7 1 3 5 7 1 3 5 7
The most notable change over time is the 010–1 012–1 014–1 016–1 010–1 012–1 014–1 016–1 010–1 012–1 014–1 016–1 010–1 012–1 014–1 016–1 010–1 012–1 014–1 016–1
steady fall in the proportion of teachers 2 2 2 2 2 2 2 2 2 2 2 2 2 2 2 2 2 2 2 2
reporting that they have ‘a lot’ of influence over Working hours Work pace Job tasks Task order Work manner
how they do their work (work manner) between
Teachers Similar professionals
2010–11 and 2016–17. The five-percentage point
change is not statistically significant, but it
Source: NFER analysis of UKHLS data
could represent an emerging downward trend
that will continue in the future.
NFER will track the future trends for teachers
and similar professionals when the next
set of data, covering 2018–19, is released in
November 2020.
10 www.nfer.ac.uk