Qualitative study on EFL teachers’ self-perceived beliefs about teacher autonomy

Teacher autonomy has been debated for a long time as a term and for its possible functions. It is a multi-faceted term which has lots of definitions in the literature. And more studies have been conducted to investigate it but there is still a need for in-depth analysis of the term and its dimensions. The purpose of this study is to explore EFL teachers’ self-perceived beliefs about teacher autonomy. The present study seeks out the answers to what EFL teachers know about teacher autonomy, how they define it, whether they have had any practices in their teaching career so far or not regarding teacher autonomy and what assumptions are underlying behind their self-reported practices. The participants of this study were EFL teachers (12 female and 2 male) who work in different contexts. The data was collected through written interviews/self-reports and primary data was further discussed in a focus group interview. The findings of the study reveal that all the participant teachers have an idea about teacher autonomy. While most of the teachers have a broader perspective about the issue, a few of them have some views about the term even if they don’t perceive themselves as a fully autonomous teacher. It also shows that most of the participant teachers are aware of the importance of teacher autonomy. Key Words: Teacher perceptions, teacher beliefs, teacher autonomy, ELT, EFL