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Published:
Mar 18, 2021DOI:
10.4314/jssd.v7i1.5Keywords:
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Main Article Content
Professional Institutional Engagement as a Framework for Negotiating Space for Teacher Autonomy in Authoritarian Work Environments
Abstract
Teacher involvement in decision making at school leads to increased motivation, engagement and empowerment. Using the Participatory Action Research (PAR) framework to increase opportunities for teacher participation in school affairs, we found that traditional hierarchical power relations and bureaucracy are barriers to teachers’ autonomy, participation and engagement in the day-to-day decision making process. The conceptual model of Professional Institutional Engagement (PIE) was used to enable teachers to frame the challenges to autonomy and decision making within their professional practice, craft interventional strategies to mitigate them, which included open communication, reflection and dialogue within the school environment. The results highlighted that PIE provided a practical mechanism through which traditional hierarchical relations and bureaucracies were circumvented, resulting in increased collaboration, improved institutional communication; which motivated and engaged teachers.
Résumé
L’engagement des enseignants dans le processus de prise de décision à l’école conduit à une augmentation de motivation, engagement et affranchissement. Faisant usage du cadre de Recherche d’Action Participative (RAP) dans le but d’augmenter les opportunités pour la participation des enseignants dans la gestion de l’école, nous avons trouvé que les hiérarchies traditionnelles de relations de pouvoir ainsi que la bureaucratie sont des barrières à l’autonomie, participation et engagement des enseignants dans le processus quotidien de prise de décision. Le modèle conceptuel d’Engagement Institutionnel Professionnel (EIP) fut utilisé pour permettre aux enseignants de formuler les défis à l’autonomie et processus de prise de décision dans leur pratique professionnel, d’élaborer des stratégies interventionnelles pour les mitiger, incluant la communication ouverte, réflexion et dialogue dans le milieu scolaire. Les résultats ont montré que EIP a fourni un mécanisme pratique à travers duquel les relations hiérarchiques traditionnelles ainsi que bureaucraties étaient dépassées, résultant ainsi en une grande collaboration et une communication institutionnelle améliorée, chose qui avait motivé et engagé les enseignants.
