This article empirically explores how teachers perceive the formal leadership of their schools regarding teacher autonomy and freedom in teaching across Nordic schools and whether teacher autonomy can predict teachers’ attitudes towards classroom practice.
Drawing on insights from Self-Determination Theory, this study uses quantitative survey data from Denmark, Sweden, Norway, Finland and Iceland. Factor, cluster and regression analysis were conducted on items from The Interpersonal Behavior Questionnaire (IBQ) to address the research question.
Four distinct dimensions of Nordic teachers’ perceptions of leadership approach regarding autonomy were identified, diverging from the six factors outlined in IBQ. Three clusters of teachers with different characteristics were found across the five countries. The variation in teachers’ perceptions of the leadership approach regarding teacher autonomy is greater within countries than across them. Teachers who perceive their school leadership to be supportive, have more positive attitudes towards a number of different classroom practices. In particular, teachers who find their leadership being autonomy supportive are more positive towards autonomy-supportive classroom practices, and teachers who find their leadership to display competence and relatedness support are more positive towards classroom practices fostering students’ competences and social relations.
The study provides valuable insights into the relationship between the way the school leadership approaches the leadership of teachers’ work in the classroom and teacher attitudes, offering recommendations for fostering a supportive school environment. The identification of distinct clusters highlights the nuanced ways in which leadership approaches impact teacher perceptions and attitudes.
