ABSTRACT
Self-direction is a term which applies particularly to the principle that the learner should choose his activities and determine the way they should be followed. Self-expression implies that the potential richness of individual character and ability should be realised, probably again through considerable freedom of choice of activities. And autonomy is a more specialised notion implying that ultimate control of character, and particularly its moral aspects, should lie with the individual himself rather than with outside influences. It was pointed out earlier that there is a tradition of progressive thought stemming from Rousseau's Emile, and applied in practical experiment by famous educators such as Pestalozzi and Froebel, which culminated in the founding of a number of progressive boarding-schools in both Europe and the United States. Methods based on self-expression and selfdirection are associated in a special way with the promotion of this important residue of free development.
