The Instructor’s Educational Philosophy Tendencies and its Relationship to their Degree of Autonomy

This study was conducted at Eduardo L. Joson Memorial College, Nueva Ecija, Philippines among the College of Teacher Education Faculty to establish the relationship between their educational philosophy tendencies and the degree of classroom autonomy they exhibit. The researchers conducted a descriptive quantitative correlational study of 19 instructors to identify their teaching philosophies along with their perceived levels of autonomy. The data were analyzed using mean and grand mean as descriptive statistics and Spearman’s rank correlation. Results show that the majority of faculty have progressive or constructivist teaching philosophies and that general and curriculum autonomy report moderate levels. Significant correlations were found between certain philosophical orientations and dimensions of teacher autonomy, particularly between essentialism, and professionalism and empowerment. The findings of the study emphasize the complex interplay between educational beliefs and perceived autonomy, suggesting implications for faculty development and institutional policies. It is important because it offers additional insight into the ways in which operating under one teaching pedagogy or another influences higher-education teachers’ sense of autonomy.