Predictive Power of Teachers’ Perceptions of Autonomy on High School Students’ Term Grade

Abstract

This study aims to investigate the predictive power of teachers’ perceptions of autonomy on the term grade of high school students and differences in terms of school type and field of instruction. The study groups of this research, which was carried out with a predictive design and survey design among the quantitative research methods, included 230 teachers working in state high schools in affiliated with the Turkish Ministry of National Education in Battalgazi and Yeşilyurt in Malatya Province and 3005 students enrolled in the 11th grade at those schools. The teachers’ data were obtained via the Teacher Autonomy Perception Scale developed by the researchers. The students’ data consisted of term grade for 11th grade students in the 2020-2021 academic year. According to multiple regression analysis, the scale factors of autonomy in the classroom, autonomy at school and professional autonomy together explained 7% of the change in students’ term grade. While the autonomy at school score was a significant predictor of students’ term grade, autonomy in the classroom and professional autonomy were not significant predictors. Regarding to Kruskal-Wallis H test findings, while there was a significant difference in teachers’ perceptions of autonomy at school in terms of school type, there was no significant difference in their perceptions of autonomy in the classroom or professional autonomy. According to MANOVA findings, there was a significant difference in teachers’ perceptions of autonomy in the classroom in terms of field of instruction but no significant difference in their perceptions of autonomy at school or professional autonomy. The findings of this research might provide guidance for researchers, curriculum development experts, policymakers, academics in teacher training institutions, and other relevant stakeholders.