The impact of dialogic reflections on teacher autonomy

Abstract

ABSTRACT Teacher autonomy refers to a teacher’s empowerment in the classroom, school, and community, leading to instructional efficacy and professionalism. Despite its proven contribution to pedagogical decision-making, studies reveal that many teachers lack sufficient autonomy mainly owing to institutional constraints. It is suggested that teachers embrace such restraints and become autonomous by initiating dialogic reflections with their colleagues and reaching contextualized decisions within a community of practice. So far, no study has explored how dialogic reflections can be performed among EFL (English as a Foreign Language) teachers. To fill the gap, the researcher investigated the process of dialogic reflections and explored whether it would affect the autonomy levels of Turkish EFL teachers. The data were collected through a teacher autonomy scale and by investigating the participants’ dialogic reflections. The results indicated that teacher autonomy levels increased thanks to social interdependence through collaborative decision-making.