Abstract:
Within the last decade Kazakhstan’s education system has undergone a number of
major changes and reforms. These changes and reforms have had a massive effect on the
teachers, as most of them had to undergo months of qualification courses and professional
development workshops. In addition to current work overload, rising teacher turnover and
decreasing influx of new teachers, this extra responsibility might affect teachers’ motivation
and job satisfaction. As teachers are the ones who act as the agents of the educational reforms
and changes, the question of whether the teachers are allowed sufficient autonomy and
freedom in making certain decisions arises.
A number of studies have revealed a strong link between teacher autonomy and job
satisfaction and motivation. Moreover, research shows that the teachers’ perception of their
own autonomy, rather than actual autonomy, also has a substantial effect on their willingness
to stay in teaching profession. This mixed-methods study aims to reveal perceptions of
individual teachers of their own autonomy and to explore any links of teacher autonomy to
job satisfaction and motivation. Nine teachers from three different schools were interviewed
for the qualitative part of the research. The three schools are different in the way they are
governed internally: a private school, a public mainstream school and a charter school. For
the quantitative part of the study 131 teachers from the aforementioned three schools took
part in an online survey with closed questions. The qualitative part of the study helps us
understand the teachers’ understanding of teacher autonomy and how it affects their practices
and beliefs. Using the data gathered from the quantitative part of the study I attempted to
establish any existing links between teacher autonomy and job satisfaction and motivation. In
addition, the data helps us compare how teachers from schools with different institutional
autonomy perceive their individual autonomy, or service autonomy.