Over the many years I’ve been working in schools, both as a class teacher and in my capacity as Teachappy founder, there is one ingredient above the rest that I’ve seen that makes for happy teachers – autonomy.
In fact autonomy, or a sense of agency, is such an integral part of our overall wellbeing that the World Health Organisation published guidance for workplace mental health which highlighted ‘low control’ over work as a key risk factor to mental health disorders and workplace burnout.
Yet for many, the ideas of autonomy and teaching don’t necessarily go hand in hand. According to a report by the National Foundation for Educational Research (NFER) teachers are 16 percentage points less likely than similar professionals to report having ‘a lot’ of influence over how they do their job, including what tasks they do, the order in which they carry out tasks, the pace at which they work and their working hours.
A whopping 38% of teachers say that they have ‘a little’ or ‘no’ influence over their professional development goals.
I hear too often about the issues of hyper-accountability, obsession with measurement and the constant changes to practices and curriculums from above. Whilst other industries progressively embrace flexible working as a key contributor to increased productivity, the teaching profession is seriously lagging.
However, fostering a sense of autonomy in our roles can be a game-changer, and despite what we might think, it is possible.
Why Autonomy Matters
Autonomy is about having the freedom to make choices that align with our values, preferences, and teaching philosophies. When teachers are granted this freedom, it leads to several significant benefits:
Increased Job Satisfaction: When teachers have the autonomy to design their lessons, choose their teaching methods and can influence their working patterns to fit around their lives outside of school they are more likely to feel satisfied and fulfilled in their work. This can only be a good thing for teacher retention. In fact, research conducted by the NFER showed that increasing teachers’ reported influence over their professional development goals from ‘some’ to ‘a lot’ is associated with a 9 percentage point increase in intention to stay in teaching.
Enhanced Creativity: Autonomy sparks creativity. When we’re free to experiment with different teaching styles and curriculum content, we can engage our students in innovative ways. This not only enriches their learning experience but also keeps our passion for teaching alive.
Happy Students: One study investigated the association between teachers’ level of emotional exhaustion and students’ maths achievement using data from over 1,000 maths teachers and around 20,000 students. The standardised tests found a small but significant negative association between teachers’ emotional exhaustion and students’ test scores. Put simply, happier teachers mean happier students and happier students learn better.
How to cultivate autonomy as a teacher
So, we know that autonomy is important for teacher wellbeing, but how much control do we really have and what can we do to cultivate more of it?
1. Focus on what you can influence
The reality for many of us working in education is that there will be things that we simply can’t control. However, educator and author, Stephen Covey, suggests that when we focus on the things we can change, no matter how small, our ‘circle of influence’ will grow as we become more adept at knowing where to invest our energy and how to influence change effectively.
Try this…
Make a list of the things that are taking up your focus and energy. This could be personal challenges, relationships or work issues.
Go through each one and identify the elements that you cannot control. This might be the emotional baggage someone else brings to the situation or deadlines that cannot move. These things are outside your circle of influence.
Now do the same exercise but identify the things that you can control. For example, how you choose to respond to an individual’s behaviour or commitments you can let go of in order to meet an important deadline. Perhaps you can even ask for the deadline to be moved? These things are inside your circle of influence.
Finally, focus on the things inside your circle of influence and make a plan to start putting them into action. Notice how you feel with a new shift in focus and as your actions start to produce positive results.
2. Set your boundaries – like an adult!
Schools which infantilise their staff are more likely to suffer from low morale and high attrition. When teachers are treated like children – berated, shamed in front of colleagues and micro-managed - there can be a tendency to start to behave in a child-like way. But, whilst we can’t control how someone else treats us, we can control our response.
Being assertive and setting our boundaries is by no means easy, but by practicing communicating our needs in a firm, open and calm way we might start to see a shift in how we are communicated to.
If the culture of the school is too toxic to influence, then remember that you have the agency to say ‘this isn’t good enough for me’ and find a school that is respectful and matches your values.
3. Take charge of your own development
Remember the 38% who said they had no control over their professional development? Sitting and waiting for your senior leadership team to recognise your strengths and put you on training and development courses is a sure-fire way of fostering frustration.
If you have a passion for a particular area of teaching, whether it’s a subject, a technique or approach, then the power is in your hands to follow that passion.
There are countless online communities, books and resources for every area and niche of teaching. Why not try becoming an active part of those communities or seeking out specialists in your local area to shadow or learn from.
As teachers, we have an incredible opportunity to shape the future, not only for our students but also for ourselves. By embracing and advocating for autonomy in our teaching practices, we can enhance our wellbeing, creativity, and effectiveness. It’s time to reclaim our agency and remind ourselves that the best educators are those who feel empowered to make choices that resonate with their values and passions. When we nurture our autonomy, we don’t just improve our own wellbeing; we create a richer, more engaging learning environment for our students. Let's champion autonomy and transform our teaching experiences for the better!
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