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I-Literature review on learner autonomy in
education
Another definition about teacher autonomy is provided by De
Vries and Kohlberg who give a picture of what an autonomous teacher looks
like.
«...the autonomous teacher can think about how
children are thinking and at the same time think about how to intervene to
promote the constructive culture. Autonomous teachers do not just accept
uncritically what curriculum specialists give them. They think about whether
they agree with what is suggested. They take responsibility for the education
they are offering children.»
(De Vries and Kohlberg 1987:380)
In short, all of these definitions reveal that teacher
autonomy is a kind of freedom through which teachers are able to practice their
duty independently. As a result, they can carry out their teaching process in
an autonomous way which suits them and meets the learning needs of their
students.
7-The autonomous teacher characteristics
As KADI (2018:14-15), after the widespread of learner autonomy
in the educational field
in general and in Second Language Acquisition (SLA) in
particular, the term teacher autonomy as a new concept has been given more
attention and become the chief concern of many researchers who have been
analyzing it from different dimensions. Smith (2001) illustrates the
characteristics of teacher autonomy and summarizes them in six very
comprehensive features as follows:
-Self-directed professional action.
-Capacity for self-directed professional action.
-Freedom from control over professional action.
-Self-directed professional development.
-Capacity for self-directed professional development.
-Freedom from control over professional development.(Smith
2001:5).
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I-Literature review on learner autonomy in
education
However, Little (1995) confirms that the use of the term
«teacher autonomy» may have different dimensions, as it is mentioned
in the following examples:
1-Self-directed professional action:
teachers feel more autonomous when they take charge of their teaching process
in a personal way and practice it through reflection, analysis and cognitive
control of the teaching process. (Little, 1995)
2-Self-directed professional development: the
autonomous teacher should be aware of why, when, where and how pedagogical
skills can be acquired in the self-conscious awareness of teaching practice
itself. (Little, 1995)
3-Freedom from control by others over professional
action: In other words, teachers are free from any external control,
and this is one of the main features of the term `teacher autonomy' in the
general educational literature. However, this autonomy cannot be absolute;
teachers can choose their teaching techniques or methods, but they have no
choice in the content or the curriculum since they are imposed on them.
In the same regard, McGrath (2000) sees that the
characteristics of teacher autonomy can be illustrated from only two
dimensions, «as self-directed action or development; as freedom from
control by others.» (McGrath, 2000:100-110). First, teachers can be
autonomous in the sense of having the capacity to control their own development
and behave independently in a self-directed manner. Second, autonomous teachers
are free from any kind of constraints; they control their teaching process by
themselves without accepting the others' decisions or interference.
8-Autonomous learner prerequisites
(conditions)
Autonomous learning is achieved when certain conditions
obtain: cognitive and metacognitive strategies on the part of the learner,
motivation, attitudes, and knowledge about language learning, i.e., a kind of
meta-language.
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