Investigating EFL Teachers’ Autonomy in Syllabus Design in the Bologna Process at Salahaddin University
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.21271/mj.1.2.11Keywords:
EFL Teachers’ Autonomy, Syllabus Design, Bologna Process, Investigation.Abstract
The Bologna Process was approved in Europe to enhance and unify higher education at the end of the 1990s. Many European and non-European countries began implementing the Process in their universities. The Bologna reform has also established university rules and restrictions to improve comparability and transparency. The standards and guidelines of the Process have impacted educational processes and teachers’ autonomy. Some Kurdish universities started to implement the Bologna Process in 2015. This case study aims to investigate teachers’ autonomy in designing their syllabi at Salahaddin University amidst the implementation of the Bologna Process at the university. It emphasizes teachers’ autonomy and contributions in developing their course plans. To achieve this aim, a 22-item questionnaire was distributed among 25 teachers in the College of Education and Basic Education/English Departments at Salahaddin University. The collected data were analyzed using SPSS Version 27. The results indicate that teachers view autonomy as essential for effective teaching and engagement, and the data reveal that they operate in a semi-autonomous manner due to certain administrative and guideline constraints.
References
• Allen, J.P.B. (1984) General purpose language teaching: A variable focus approach. In: Brumfit, C.J. (ed.) General English syllabus design. ELT Document 118. Oxford: Pergamon Press, pp. 61–74.
• Al-Kathiri, F. (2016) ‘The voice of the teacher in syllabus design’, English Language and Literature Studies, 6(1), pp. 87–94. doi:10.5539/ells.v6n1p87.
• Brown, J.D. (1995). The elements of language curriculum: A systematic approach to program development. Boston: Heinle & Heinle Publishers.
• Bologna Follow-Up Group (2005).From Berlin to Bergen: General Report to the Conference of European Ministers Responsible for Higher Education, Bergen, 19–20 May 2005. Available at: https://ehea.info/media.ehea.info/file/2005_Bergen/52/3/General_report_Bergen_2005_579523.pdf (Accessed: 2 June 2025).
• Bass, B. M., & Riggio, R. E. (2005). Transformation Leadership. Mahwah, NJ: Lawrence Erlbaum Associates.
• Breen, M.P. (1984). Process Syllabuses for the Language Classroom. In: Brumfit, C.J. (ed.) General English Syllabus Design. Oxford: Pergamon Press, pp. 47–60.
• Brøgger, K. (2018). How education standards gain hegemonic power and become international: The case of higher education and the Bologna Process. European Educational Research Journal, 18(2), 158-180. https://doi.org/10.1177/1474904118790303 (Original work published 2019).
• Brunetti, G. (2001). Why do they teach? A study of job satisfaction among long-term high school teachers. Teacher Education Quarterly, 28(3), pp.49–74. Available at: https://www.jstor.org/stable/23478304 [Accessed 2 Jun. 2025].
• Gayef, A. and Hurdag, C. (2014). Quality assurance and the Bologna Process in higher education. Educational Alternatives, 12, pp.113–122. Available at: https://www.researchgate.net/publication/276437967_QUALITY_ASSURANCE_AND_THE_BOLOGNA_PROCESS_IN_HIGHER_EDUCATION [Accessed 2 Jun. 2025].
• Dieudé, A. and Prøitz, T.S. (2022). Curriculum policy and instructional planning: Teachers’ autonomy across various school contexts, European Educational Research Journal, 23(1), pp. 28–47. doi:10.1177/14749041221075156.
• Dörnyei, Z. (2007). Research methods in applied linguistics: Quantitative, qualitative, and mixed methodologies. Oxford: Oxford University Press.
• Drits-Esser, D. and Stark, L.A. (2015). The impact of collaborative curriculum design on teacher professional learning. Electron Journal of Science Education, 19(8), pp.151–129. Available at: https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC7881916/ [Accessed 30 May 2025].
• European Ministers of Education (1999). The Bologna Declaration of 19 June 1999: Joint declaration of the European Ministers of Education. Bologna: European Higher Education Area. Available at: https://ehea.info/media.ehea.info/file/Ministerial_conferences/02/8/1999_Bologna_Declaration_English_553028.pdf (Accessed: 2 June 2025).
• Graves, K. (2000). Designing language courses: A guide for teachers. Boston: Heinle & Heinle Publishers.
• Gupta, H. (2023). An Alternative Perspective on the Teachers' Role in Curriculum Development. eLearning Industry. Available at: https://elearningindustry.com/teachers-role-in-curriculum-development-alternative-perspective [Accessed 20 May 2025].
• Hamarash I.I. (2012). Reforming Higher Education in the Kurdistan Region. 11th Annual Meeting of Asian University Presidents Forum, Busan, Korea. P.3.
• Johnson, D.C. (2009). The relationship between applied linguistic research and language policy for bilingual education, Applied Linguistics, 31(1), pp. 72–93. Available at: https://doi.org/10.1093/applin/amp011 [Accessed 1 June 2025].
• Lepine, S.A.(2007). The ruler and the ruled: Complicating a theory of teaching autonomy. Doctoral dissertation. University of Texas at Austin. Available at: http://hdl.handle.net/2152/3738 [Accessed 2 Jun. 2025].
• Ludy, M.-J., Brackenbury, T., Folkins, J.W., Peet, S.H. & Langendorfer, S.J. (2016). Student impressions of syllabus design: Engaging versus contractual syllabus. Bowling Green State University.
• Little, D. (1995). Learning as dialogue: The dependence of learner autonomy on teacher. System, 3(2), 175-181.
• Li, M. (2010). EFL teachers and English language education in the PRC: Are they the policy makers?’, Asia-Pacific Education Researcher, 19(3), pp. 439–451. Available at: https://doi.org/10.3860/taper.v19i3.1852 [Accessed 1 June 2025].
• Matei, L. and Iwinska, J. (2018). Diverging paths? Institutional autonomy and academic freedom in the European Higher Education Area. In: A. Curaj, L. Deca and R. Pricopie, eds. European Higher Education Area: The Impact of Past and Future Policies. Cham: Springer, pp.345–368. DOI: 10.1007/978-3-319-77407-7_22 [Accessed 2 Jun. 2025].
• McGrath, I. (2000). Teacher autonomy. In B. Sinclair, I. McGrath and T. Lamb(Eds.). Learner Autonomy, Teacher Autonomy: Future Directions (pp.100-110).
Harlow, Pearson Education, England. [accessed Jun 02, 2025].
• Melenyzer, B.J.(1990). Teacher empowerment: The discourse, meanings and social actions of teachers. Paper presented at the 15th Annual Conference of the National Council of States on Inservice Education, Orlando, FL, 16–20 November 1990. ERIC Document No. ED327496.
• Ministers of Education of France, Germany, Italy, and the United Kingdom (1998). Sorbonne Joint Declaration: Joint declaration on harmonisation of the architecture of the European higher education system. Paris: The Sorbonne. Available at: https://ehea.info/media.ehea.info/file/1998_Sorbonne/61/2/1998_Sorbonne_Declaration_English_552612.pdf (Accessed: 2 June 2025).
• Nunan, D. (1988). Syllabus Design. Oxford: Oxford University Press.
• Öztürk, İ.H. (2011) ‘Curriculum reform and teacher autonomy in Turkey: The case of the history teaching’, International Journal of Instruction, 4(2), pp. 113–128. Available at: turkey.pdf (Accessed: 2 June 2025).
• Peng, Y., Wu, H. & Guo, C. (2022). The relationship between teacher autonomy and mental health in primary and secondary school teachers: The chain-mediating role of teaching efficacy and job satisfaction. International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health, 19(22), p.15021. https://doi.org/10.3390/ijerph192215021.
• Pearson, L.C. and Moomaw, W. (2005). The relationship between teacher autonomy and stress, work satisfaction, empowerment, and professionalism. Education Research Quarterly, 29(1), pp.38–54. Available at: https://www.researchgate.net/publication/234697764_The_Relationship_between_Teacher_Autonomy_and_Stress_Work_Satisfaction_Empowerment_and_Professionalism [Accessed 2 Jun. 2025].
• Prichard, C., & Moore, J. E. (2016a). ‘The Balance of Teacher Autonomy and Top-Down Coordination in ESOL Programs’. TESOL Quarterly, 50(1), 190-201.
• Ramírez Romero, J.L. and González Rodríguez, J.F. (2021). The influence of cultural context on English teaching. [online] Available at: https://www.researchgate.net/publication/372562471_The_Influence_of_Cultural_Context_on_English_Teaching [Accessed 30 May 2025].
• Richards, J.C. (2001). Curriculum development in language teaching. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.
• Ramírez Romero, J.L. and González Rodríguez, J.F. (2021). The influence of cultural context on English teaching. [online] Available at: https://www.researchgate.net/publication/372562471_The_Influence_of_Cultural_Context_on_English_Teaching [Accessed 30 May 2025].
• Robinson, P. (2011b). Second language task complexity: Researching the cognition hypothesis of language learning and performance. Amsterdam: John Benjamins Publishing Company
(PDF) The Concept of Syllabus Design and Curriculum Development: A Look at Five Major Syllabus Designs. Available from: https://www.researchgate.net/publication/322852723_The_Concept_of_Syllabus_Design_and_Curriculum_Development_A_Look_at_Five_Major_Syllabus_Designs [accessed Jun 02 2025].
• Rudolph, L. (2006). Decomposing teacher autonomy: A study investigating types of teacher autonomy and how it relates to job satisfaction. Unpublished doctoral dissertation. University of Pennsylvania. Available at: https://www.researchgate.net/publication/45599238_Decomposing_teacher_autonomy_A_study_investigating_types_of_teacher_autonomy_and_how_it_relates_to_job_satisfaction [Accessed 1 June 2025].
• Swatevacharkul, R.(2022). Perceptions of Thai EFL teachers at public schools in Nonthaburi, Thailand: Teacher autonomy and constraints. Rangsit Journal of Educational Studies, 9(2), pp.42–59. ISSN 2773-9368 (Online).
• Shabbah, S. S. (2018). English language syllabi: Definition, types, design, and selection. Arab World English Journal (AWEJ), 9(2), 127-142. https://doi. org/10.24093/awej/vol9no2.9
• Sabbah, S.S. (2018).English language syllabuses: Definition, types, design, and selection’, Arab World English Journal, 9(2). Available at: https://dx.doi.org/10.24093/awej/vol9no2.9 [Accessed 1 June 2025].
• Torgal, F.P. and Jalali, S.(2007). The Bologna Process: What should and should not be done. In: International Conference on Engineering Education – ICEE 2007, Coimbra, Portugal, 3–7 September 2007.
• Zhang, D., He, J., and Fu, D. (2021). How can we improve teacher’s work engagement? Based on Chinese experiences. Frontiers in Psychology, 12, p.721450. Available at: https://www.researchgate.net/publication/356679458_How_Can_We_Improve_Teacher's_Work_Engagement_Based_on_Chinese_Experiences [Accessed 20 May 2025].
• Zeraatpishe, M. (2023). Types of syllabi: Toward a post-syllabus. Chapter IV. Islamic Azad University, Mashhad. Available at: https://www.researchgate.net/publication/370017003 (Accessed: 20 May 2025).
Downloads
Published
How to Cite
Issue
Section
License
Copyright (c) 2026 Elaf Ahmed
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License.
