Education systems often struggle between granting teachers’ meaningful professional autonomy with maintaining coherence across classrooms. Data from the Teaching and Learning International Survey (TALIS) show that the level of autonomy afforded to teachers varies considerably across countries. For example, fewer than 30% of lower secondary teachers have significant responsibility to choose the learning materials they use in lessons in Azerbaijan, Bahrain, Japan, Morocco and Uzbekistan. In contrast, the share is above 90% in Denmark, Estonia, Iceland, Italy, the Netherlands*, Poland and Slovenia, according to principals’ reports. So how much freedom should teachers have in the classroom?
It is a simple question and at first glance many would argue that teachers must be free to do their jobs rather than simply follow instructions handed down from above. But in practice, there are many pedagogical and system matters to consider. According to TALIS data, teachers who report higher levels of autonomy in designing lessons and teaching methods tend to feel more confident in managing classrooms and delivering lessons. More autonomy also correlates with higher job satisfaction, lower stress and greater confidence in adapting lessons to students’ needs, in most cases by a large margin.
This seems to suggest that greater teacher autonomy is a good thing. However, TALIS only tells us there is a correlation. Not what the driving factor is. For example, confidence could be the main reason why teachers act more autonomously and are less stressed.
It is also important to note that the data show a stronger link between autonomy and self-efficacy among experienced teachers. Educators who have spent ten years or more in front of a blackboard tend to flourish when they are free to tailor their approach. In contrast, too much autonomy for novice teachers, who might lack support structures, could have a negative impact.
How should policymakers respond? While autonomy is often championed as an important component of teaching, that should not mean a lack of coherence in practice. Idiosyncratic or unscientific methods risk undermining student outcomes and the credibility of teachers. It is important for policymakers to promote a shared professional culture grounded in evidence-based practice. This will ensure that students’ experiences are consistent across classrooms, teachers, and over time.
Education systems should consider which teachers are granted more freedom and under what circumstances. A teacher’s profile – their experience, confidence and competence – should inform decisions about autonomy. For example, a novice teacher may need structure and mentorship before being expected to exercise autonomy. But even for experienced teachers, autonomy can only work effectively when embedded in a collaborative professional culture. Autonomous teachers must work together to define shared standards of good practice, align expectations, and collectively build instructional coherence across the system.
Countries have confronted these issues in different ways. In Slovenia, for example, a decade-long reform of upper secondary education saw teachers gradually take on greater responsibility for whole-school planning and implementation. This meant that teachers had considerable autonomy to shape classroom practices. At the same time, accountability was built into the system through shared strategic goals and national resources to guide teachers’ work. This also helped reinforce collaboration among teachers, helping ensure that growing autonomy did not come at the expense of system coherence.
Colombia has embedded teacher involvement by allowing teachers to participate in educational governing bodies, giving them a say on curriculum and policy. The country has also strengthened teacher autonomy through five annual weeks dedicated to institutional development. In this time, teachers can work on teaching practices as well as their school’s planning and partnerships. These examples of structured programmes balance freedom with shared responsibility. They create space for teacher-led initiatives to work alongside broader educational goals. And by creating deliberate spaces for teachers to learn from one another and align their work, they demonstrate how professional autonomy thrives when it is collective, not isolated.
But allowing freedom in the classroom should not mean a lack of oversight. And at the moment, there is sometimes insufficient oversight in countries where teacher autonomy is high. For example, in Italy and Norway*, where many teachers report having substantial instructional autonomy, about one in four have never been appraised. In Finland, the share exceeds one third. Education leaders, effectively, may not really know what teachers are doing in the classroom.
This can have serious implications. Successful accountability systems allow teachers to innovate while maintaining clear benchmarks for success. But more importantly, successful systems cultivate professional communities where teachers observe one another, exchange feedback, and develop common understandings of effective practice. This collaborative culture is what makes professional autonomy viable and coherent at scale. Policymakers need to cultivate environments for teachers to work together to frame good practice, such as through classroom observation and professional learning communities. Such collaboration ensures that autonomy is exercised responsibly and collectively, strengthening quality and standards.
However, if accountability systems go too far, they can have a negative impact. When systems become punitive or disconnected from real classroom work, they can limit and undermine autonomy altogether. That, in turn, can breed an atmosphere of compliance, rather than creativity, and harm the quality of teaching. The goal is not to restrict autonomy but to anchor it within a strong, collaborative professional culture. This allows teachers to exercise individual judgment while contributing to shared goals, rather than operating in isolation.
This is part of a series of blogs focused on results from the OECD’s Teaching and Learning International Survey (TALIS) 2024: The State of Teaching. TALIS is the world’s largest international survey about teachers and school leaders. Conducted by the OECD, in 2024 it sampled about 280 000 lower secondary teachers in 17 000 schools across 55 education systems. Lower secondary teachers typically teach students up until their mid-teens. The series of blogs are based on chapters in the TALIS 2024 Insights and Interpretations brochure: Support Materials – Results from TALIS Starting Strong 2024 | OECD