The investigation of structural relationship between autonomy and motivation among english teachers in terms of demographic variables

The aim of this research is to examine the structural relationship between autonomy and motivation in English teachers in terms of demographic variables. In this context, it was investigated whether the autonomy levels of English teachers have an effect on their motivation levels, whether there is a relationship between autonomy and motivation and demographic characteristics such as gender, career stage, place of residence, school level and age, and whether autonomy and motivation have an effect on the aforementioned demographic characteristics. The universe of the research, which utilized structural relationship modeling, consists of English teachers. Maximum diversity sampling was used. In the 2023-2024 spring semester, data was collected from 302 English teachers, and the collected data was used in the analysis. "Personal Information Form", "Teacher Autonomous Behavior Scale" and "Motivation Scale" were used in the research. Frequency, percentage, arithmetic mean and Independent Sample t Test, One-Way Analysis of Variance (ANOVA), Pearson Correlation Coefficient analysis were performed on the collected data, and structural equation model was used. According to the analysis result, it was investigated whether the autonomy and motivation of English teachers differed by gender, and a result was found in favor of male teachers. The difference between the career steps of English teachers and the level of autonomy and motivation was analyzed. According to the result of the study, it was determined that there was a significant difference between the career steps of teachers and autonomy and motivation. The autonomy levels of expert teachers and head teachers were higher. At the same time, it was determined that the motivation levels of expert teachers were also higher. The difference between the school level where English teachers work and the level of autonomy and motivation was analyzed. According to the result of the study, it was determined that there was no significant difference between the level where teachers work and the level of autonomy and motivation. It was analyzed whether the place where English teachers work differed in the level of autonomy and motivation of teachers. According to the study results, a result was obtained in favor of teachers working in the city center. The relationship between the age variable and English teachers' autonomy and motivation was analyzed, and it was determined that there was a positive relationship between age and teacher autonomy and motivation. Finally, the effect of autonomy on motivation was analyzed. According to the analysis findings, it was determined that teacher autonomy strongly affected motivation. In addition, it was determined that the effect of autonomy on motivation was high in male teachers, high school teachers and teachers working in the city center.