Leveraging the Relationship Between Teacher Instructional Autonomy and Teacher Professional Identity to Improve Teacher Job Satisfaction in High-Poverty Schools

Teacher turnover remains a persistent issue. Effective teachers represent a critical factor in student success; however, high-poverty schools tend to experience more turnover than low-poverty schools. In this mixed-survey study, the researcher investigates how limited instructional autonomy in Title I-funded elementary schools may challenge teachers’ professional identities, leading to decreased job satisfaction. Bandura’s (1985) reciprocal determinism theory frames the complexity of teachers’ environments, a trilateral connection among working conditions, teachers’ beliefs, and associated responses. By addressing the relationship between teachers’ instructional autonomy and sense of professionalism, leaders can improve teachers’ job satisfaction and retention in high-poverty schools.