A Qualitative Exploration of How Centralized Lesson Planning Influences Teachers’ Autonomy and Instructional Practices

Abstract

This qualitative research has been conducted while utilizing Interpretivist paradigm for the exploration of how centralized lesson planning influences teachers’ autonomy and instructional practices. For this purpose, there were 15 secondary school teachers sampled purposively from public sector schools based in Lahore. The data have been collected with the help of self-developed Semi-Structured interview protocol after the validation from the experts’ opinion. The collected data were analyzed with the help of Manual Thematic Analysis. Based on the results, it has been concluded that Views on centralized lesson planning seem to be both supportive and critical at the same time. Most teachers felt that uniform and structural clarity brought through centralized plans were positive, especially for newer or less experienced teachers. However, the participants strongly stated that centralized lesson planning policies have reduced their professional autonomy. Their ability to adapt teaching methods, order topics, and make dynamic instructional changes on the fly has been restricted.