Negotiating Autonomy: A Multiple Case Study of Teacher-Led Curriculum Innovation in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa's Public Universities

Abstract

This multiple case study investigates the lived experiences of fourteen faculty members engaged in teacher-led curriculum innovation across three public universities in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, Pakistan. Framed within a socio-cultural perspective on teacher autonomy, the research examines how academic staff negotiate institutional constraints, cultural expectations, and resource limitations while initiating bottom-up curricular reforms. Data were generated through semi-structured interviews, documentary analysis, and participant observation over six months. Findings reveal a complex interplay between individual agency and structural impediments, where innovation occurs through micro-political negotiations, collegial solidarity, and strategic compliance. Teachers exercise discretionary autonomy primarily in pedagogical implementation rather than design, navigating bureaucratic centralisation and assessment regimes through informal networks. The study identifies three distinct negotiation strategies: adaptive assimilation, collaborative resistance, and strategic subversion. Implications underscore the need for policy frameworks that recognise teacher professionalism and create enabling structures for context-responsive curriculum development in Pakistan's higher education sector.

Keywords: Teacher autonomy, curriculum innovation, higher education, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, public universities, case study