The Impact of Teachers' Educational Philosophy Tendencies on Their Curriculum Autonomy

In this study, the effect of teachers' educational philosophy tendencies on their curriculum autonomy was investigated using a correlational research design. The study's population consisted of teachers 258 teachers drawn from various schools using a simple random sampling method. The data were collected through Educational Philosophy Tendency Scale and Teachers' Autonomy on Curriculum Scale. According to the results, progressive educational philosophy appears to be the most frequently adopted tendency by teachers, while essentialist educational philosophy appears to be the least widely adopted. Teachers have a high level of procedural autonomy, which is followed by autonomy in professional development, evaluation autonomy, and autonomy in planning. There are weak and moderately significant correlations between teachers' educational philosophy tendencies and their curriculum autonomy. Also, teachers' educational philosophy tendencies are a strong predictor of curriculum autonomy. Progressive educational philosophy tendency predicts procedural autonomy and professional development autonomy significantly. Reconstructionist, essentialist, and perennialist educational philosophy tendencies, on the other hand, have no impact on curriculum autonomy. In this context, progressive educational philosophy adopted by the teachers influences how they structure their professional development and how they carry out the learning-teaching process without relying heavily on external factors.