ABSTRACT
Although an understanding of science and technology is socially valued, relatively little is done to facilitate its acquisition by individuals on their own account. A major factor is the relative lack of relevant literature making it difficult to identify the characteristics of effective “self-directed learning”. In this chapter, the four major theoretical approaches to adult learning are summarised and critically reviewed in order of their increasing relevance to self-directed learning. The first may be called the “classical model” or “school-like model”, in which what is to be learnt and how that learning is to take place is determined by the teacher. Second is “constructivism”, in which the learning is active as exemplified in the humanistic psychology of Piaget, Kelly, Rogers, and Vygotsky. The connection of constructivism to inquiry-based learning in the school curriculum is described. Third is “andragogy”, developed for the adult learning field by Knowles as a reaction to the classical model, and widely used to describe the learning that takes place in response to teaching. The fourth is heutagogy, specifically developed to account for self-directed learning. Autodidactism is mentioned. A vital ingredient in successful self-directed learning is active engagement, psychologically driven by learner motivation. A draft framework for self-directed learning is presented and an outline provided of an inquiry to test how this occurs in practice, as reported in subsequent chapters.
