"Playing the Game" and "Buying In": Charter School Teachers Claim Autonomy

• In Event: Teachers' Experiences in Highly Marketized Educational Contexts

Abstract

Charter schools were created with a vision of empowering teachers to implement school and classroom strategies in accordance with their educational expertise. Such autonomy and respect for teacher expertise indicates a commitment to teacher professionalism. Yet charter schools also have higher rates of teacher turnover and hire fewer credentialed, experienced teachers. This comparative qualitative case study investigates how charter schools have lived up to their promise of granting teachers autonomy. The study finds that the autonomy built into the charter school model falls on school- and network-level administrators, who then frame the school contexts in which teachers work, creating diverse conditions for professionalism.

Author

• Beth Wright-Costello, Whittier College