Teachers speak about their sense of professional autonomy in challenging times
Published:
Jan 16, 2026
Keywords:
teachers’ professionalization autonomy accountability educational work interviews
Abstract
This study aims to investigate 23 experienced secondary school teachers’ perceptions of their professional selves in the contemporary educational context compared to the early years of their career; that is, how these teachers perceive the new discourses on education and how they affect their work and their perception of autonomy.
When we talk about new discourses on education, we refer to the educational agenda of the 21st century, which is articulated in finding the most efficient ways of acquiring predetermined knowledge and skills, which are assessed in terms of their measurable results, and in establishing accountability. At the same time, new concepts such as new knowledge-lifelong learning, skills, creative and critical thinking, collaboration skills, and literacies dominate the OECD's agenda and are repeated in all tones by a strategically vague and often euphemistic political rhetoric that replaces pedagogical language.
Despite the significant literature documenting the impact of accountability policies, little is known about how teachers think and act within this framework in relation to their pedagogical commitments and identities.
The data for this interpretative, qualitative research were collected from semi-structured in-depth interviews, which were coded into an inductive system of categories and subcategories and then formatted into categories using the method of constant comparison of content.
The analysis of the data revealed three teachers’ profiles, characterized by: a) explicit opposition and resistance to the current educational situation, b) problematization and compromise with it, and c) adaptation and satisfaction with the current educational situation.
The most important conclusion is that most participants seem to at least recognize that a system has been established, not only in our country, that redirects educators to other absolute 'truths' about what is right and wrong, and makes them responsible for the performance of students as well as their own. They are dissatisfied because of the feeling of constant, hidden or overt, control. They experience the detrimental effects that reforms under the dominant discourse of neoliberalism have on their autonomy and their educational work. Some resist, seeking alternatives for their work in the classroom and trying to communicate the need to reinvent their mission; some compromise under the weight of dilemmas and conflicts; few seem satisfied.
Recommendations arising from the research findings are also discussed.
Article Details
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Mamoura, M. (2026). Teachers speak about their sense of professional autonomy in challenging times. Hellenic Journal of Research in Education, 15(1), 12–30. https://doi.org/10.12681/hjre.43286
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- Vol. 15 No. 1 (2026)
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