Examining the Effect of School Climate on Teacher Autonomy According to Teachers' Opinions

Öğretmenlerin Görüşlerine Göre Okul İkliminin Öğretmen Özerkliğine Etkisinin İncelenmesi

Abstract

This study aimed to examine the effect of school climate on teacher autonomy, according to teachers' opinions. Relational scanning model was used in the research. As a result of the research; Teacher autonomy was above average and organizational climate was below average. The difference between the organizational climate scale and the arithmetic averages of the age groups was found to be statistically significant, and it was concluded that the group between the ages of 31-40 perceived a higher organizational climate than the group between the ages of 41-50. It has been revealed that teachers' perceptions of organizational climate and teacher autonomy do not vary depending on whether they are married or single. On the other hand, the difference between the organizational climate scale and professional experience groups was found to be statistically significant, and it was concluded that the group between 6 and 10 years perceived higher organizational climate than the groups between 16-20 years and 21 years and above. The difference between teacher autonomy and professional experience groups was found to be statistically significant. Accordingly, it was concluded that the 1-5 year group perceived higher teacher autonomy than the 6-10 year and 11-15 year groups. It was also revealed that teachers' autonomy perceptions did not change according to undergraduate and graduate degrees. However, there was a difference in the organizational climate. This difference is in favor of teachers with a master's degree. In addition, while there is a low-level positive relationship between the teachers' organizational climate and general dimensions of teacher autonomy within the scope of the study, the regression analysis reveals that teachers' perceptions of organizational climate significantly positively predict their perceptions of teacher autonomy. In other words, a 100-unit increase in the organizational climate dimension increases teacher autonomy perceptions by 39.9%.