Teachers’ Sense of Autonomy and their Work Motivation in Selected Secondary Schools in Oromia Regional State

Abstract

The purpose of this study was to examine the level of teachers’ sense of autonomy and its association with their work motivation in some selected secondary schools in Ethiopia. In this mixed methods research, data were gathered from 95 teachers with a questionnaire and 5 teachers with semi-structured interview guide from three secondary schools in the Oromia region, Ethiopia. T-test, one-way ANOVA, and thematic descriptions were used for data analysis. The result indicated that the perceived level of teacher autonomy as measured along two dimensions (general autonomy and curriculum autonomy) seemed to be low. Teachers’ sense of autonomy was associated positively with their work motivation. External interference (e.g., imposed teaching approaches that ignore teachers’ decisions and too many routine activities imposed on the teachers) was prevalent. Hence, teachers feel that they are powerless to decide what they have to do at school. This might hinder them from involving actively, confidently, creatively, and with motivation in their teaching activities. The implications of these and other findings of the study were identified and suggestions for further research were forwarded.