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Preface
Teacher autonomy can lead to either exciting or vacuous learning experiences for students. Therefore, it is of critical import that school leaders understand the complexities associated with teacher autonomy. This work examines how teachers view autonomy and whether or not the accountability associated with high-stakes testing influences teachers’ perceptions of autonomy. Researchers have tended to view teacher autonomy as a unitary concept. This work seeks to expand the knowledge base by decomposing autonomy and deepening our understanding of how high-stakes accountability affects teachers’ perceptions of their own autonomy. First, a model is proposed in which autonomy is decomposed into six distinct subcomponents: autonomy over curriculum, pedagogy, assessment, professional development, student discipline, and classroom environment.