Internal Quality Assurance-Driven Professional Development and Teacher Autonomy: Evidence from Public Secondary Schools in Tanzania

The Internal Quality Assurance (IQA) system is a cornerstone for improving educational quality, thereby strengthening PD to enhance teacher autonomy, which is the bedrock for instructional innovation and professional competence. Grounded in Self-Determination Theory, this study examines the influence of Internal Quality Assurance (IQA)-driven professional development (PD) on enhancing teacher autonomy in Public Secondary Schools (PSSs) in Morogoro Region, Tanzania. The study employed a mixed-methods convergent design, guided by a pragmatist research philosophy. The sample size for this study comprises 371 respondents, including 225 teachers from 25 public secondary schools, 100 Internal Quality Assurance Team (IQATs) members, 7 Chief District Quality Assurance Officers (CDQAOs), and 7 District Secondary Education Officers (DSEOs) from the 7 districts in Morogoro region. Questionnaire instruments were administered to teachers for quantitative data collection, and structured interviews were conducted with CDQAOs and DSEOs for qualitative data, as well as Focus Group Discussions (FGDs) with Internal Quality Assurance Teams. Quantitative data were descriptively and inferentially analyzed using Linear Regression in SPSS version 20, as well as thematic analysis procedures for qualitative data. The study found that effective IQA practices, specifically those emphasizing reflective teacher training and peer learning, significantly enhance teachers’ instructional freedom and increase their ability to make decisions. This study demonstrates that IQA-driven PD in Public secondary schools in the Morogoro region, Tanzania, significantly enhances teacher agency within a hierarchical education system by promoting reflective instructional autonomy, collaborative decision-making, and data-driven instructional innovation through systematic self-evaluation and institutional learning feedback loops. Based on the tested hypothesis, the study concluded that there was a significant relationship between teachers’ professional development programs and management of students’ behaviors independently in public secondary schools in the Morogoro region. It is further concluded that the IQA framework with integrated teacher-centered PD enhances both the quality of education and teachers’ autonomy in PSSs. The study recommends sufficient funding, consistent PD delivery, and the IQA policy review on the hierarchical framework of the IQA mechanisms, which hinder the full realization of teacher autonomy in PSSs.