Development and validation of an e-teachers’ autonomy-support scale: A SEM approach

Studies have shown that learner autonomy plays a decisive role in online learning, but teachers’ autonomy supportiveness is still under-researched. This issue has particularly remained untouched in online instruction which has gained importance recently. Considering the lack of an appropriate context-specific scale for the investigation of online teachers’ autonomy support, the current study sought to develop and validate a scale for this purpose. It investigated the factors that contribute to autonomy support by Iranian EFL teachers in online contexts. The literature on the topics of autonomy and e-learning was reviewed extensively, and a questionnaire was developed and validated through Structural Equation Modeling (SEM) methodology. The thematic analysis of the literature and experts’ opinions finally yielded 48 factors that were grouped in seven categories comprising negotiation, awareness, freedom, teacher attitude, scaffolding, authenticity, and technical help.