Chapter 14: Teaching Autonomy Support to Teachers

In this chapter, we define autonomy and describe how to foster it. We then explain why it is an important motivational construct for teachers and discuss approaches and challenges for teaching educators about autonomy and autonomy support. Examples of how to implement autonomy supportive practices during teacher education are used to illustrate how the concept of autonomy support can be taught to teachers.

Deci and Ryan (1991) describe autonomy as the sense of agency people have when they believe that they can affect a particular outcome or situation. Autonomy also can be thought of as a state in which individuals perceive that they can independently determine their own goals and behavior. Outside of the field of psychology, autonomy is defined as having freedom. However, ceding total freedom to students is not a prerequisite for promoting students’ self-determination or sense of agency.