ABSTRACT
Self-directed learning is one of those foundation concepts in adult education which strengthen the identity as a distinct field of practice and inquiry. The term is constantly used in journals, monographs and texts in adult education and has featured in a number of national and international policy documents. It evokes associations with a cluster of terms such as ‘learner-centredness’, ‘independent learning’, ‘self-teaching’, ‘autonomy’, ‘freedom’ and ‘needsmeeting’, all of which are enthusiastically embraced within the emerging ethos of adult education.
