Resolving the Tension Between the Controlling Structure of Teacher Authority and Respect for Students’ Needs

Zeinab Kabiri; Saeideh  Bateni

doi:10.61838/26vya781

Authors

Zeinab Kabiri Assistant Professor, Department of Islamic Education, Fahangian University, Tehran, Iran https://orcid.org/0000-0001-5035-8826
Saeideh Bateni Assistant Professor, Department of Educational Sciences , Fahangian University, Tehran, Iran Author https://orcid.org/0009-0002-2258-402X

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.61838/26vya781

Keywords:

Teacher authority, Controlling teaching, Autonomy support, Student needs, Teacher–student relationship, Classroom management, Student voice, Systematic review

Abstract

Purpose: This study aimed to systematically synthesize evidence on how teacher authority can be maintained while simultaneously respecting students’ psychological, educational, developmental, and autonomy-related needs.

Methods and Materials: This study employed a systematic review design in accordance with PRISMA principles. Relevant studies published between January 2000 and December 2025 were searched in Scopus, Web of Science, ERIC, PsycINFO, and Google Scholar using combinations of keywords related to teacher authority, controlling teaching, classroom control, autonomy-supportive teaching, student needs, student voice, psychological need satisfaction, and teacher–student relationships. The initial search identified 1,286 records. After removing duplicates and conducting title, abstract, and full-text screening according to predefined inclusion and exclusion criteria, 58 studies were retained for final analysis. Data were extracted using a structured researcher-developed form and analyzed through systematic qualitative synthesis and thematic content analysis. Higher-order themes were generated by comparing recurrent patterns concerning coercive control, classroom structure, autonomy support, interpersonal responsiveness, student participation, and legitimacy of teacher authority.

Findings: The synthesis indicated that controlling and psychologically coercive forms of teacher authority were consistently associated with lower academic and behavioral engagement, frustration of autonomy, greater emotional distress, reduced participation, weaker teacher–student relationships, and increased resistance or externally regulated compliance. In contrast, structured autonomy-supportive authority was associated with greater engagement, autonomy satisfaction, perceived competence, trust, self-regulation, internalization of classroom expectations, and improved learning outcomes. The evidence further indicated that teacher authority was most effective when rules and expectations were clear, predictable, fairly applied, and accompanied by meaningful explanations, interpersonal respect, opportunities for student voice, and age-appropriate participation. The findings therefore supported a distinction between necessary behavioral and instructional structure and unnecessary psychological control.

Conclusion: Effective resolution of the tension between teacher authority and students’ needs requires replacing coercive control with structured autonomy-supportive authority in which teachers retain legitimate instructional and behavioral leadership while respecting students’ dignity, agency, competence, relatedness, and participation.

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