PROFESIONALNA AUTONOMIJA VJEROUČITELJA KAO UVJET KREATIVNE I SAMOREGULIRANE NASTAVNE PRAKSE
PROFESSIONAL AUTONOMY OF RELIGIOUS EDUCATION TEACHERS AS A CONDITION FOR CREATIVE AND SELF-REGULATED INSTRUCTIONAL PRACTICE

Summary/Abstract: This review article examines the professional autonomy of religious education teachers as a key precondition for creative and self-regulated instructional practice within confessional education. Against the backdrop of global educational reforms, curricular standardisation and accountability regimes, the scope for pedagogical decision-making has been increasingly constrained—an issue that is particularly salient for religious education teachers operating across two normative spheres: the state-regulated school system and the regulatory frameworks of religious institutions. Drawing on a narrative review with systematic elements (47 peer-reviewed studies extracted from major international databases), the article demonstrates that professional autonomy is primarily a pedagogical competency and ethical responsibility rather than a merely legal entitlement. Autonomy enables the development of creative didactics, interpretative pedagogies, experiential learning and reflective practice, thereby fostering learner motivation, religious literacy and moral reasoning. Concurrently, the review highlights several structural impediments: doctrinal regulation, curricular rigidity and professional isolation. Significant research gaps were identified, including the absence of comparative, longitudinal and psychometrically validated studies on teacher autonomy in religious education. The article concludes by advocating a balance between professional freedom and responsibility as a foundation for formative, ethically grounded and plural-oriented religious education.

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