ABSTRACT
This chapter explores the extent to which the claims about charter schools' autonomy and innovation are reflected in the work teachers do. It adds to the research base by utilizing market and institutional lenses to examine how the conditions of autonomy and innovation play out in charter school teachers' roles. Recognizing the central role that teachers play in student learning, it follows that the roles and responsibilities of teachers in charter schools may be redefined as a result of competitive pressures. Charter school advocates argue that schools will improve when they are permitted to operate outside of entrenched bureaucracies that inhibit educational reform efforts. A primary argument for charter schools pertains to the notion that teacher autonomy will spur innovative teaching practices in the classroom and will encourage teachers to assume new roles outside the classroom. The limited extent empirical research provides some evidence that charter schools exhibit higher levels of autonomy and innovation in certain aspects of schooling.
