ABSTRACT
Merriam identified three strands to research into Self-directedness: research into the goals of Self-directed learning, research into the Self-directed learner themselves, and research into the process of ‘teaching’ Self-directed learning. This chapter considers different aspects of the learner and their context to identify those factors that may impact upon the development of Self-directedness. There are models regarding the teaching of Self-directedness. The chapter looks at a couple of them to see how they can be built into our own instructional model for developing self-directedness. As has already been suggested from a discussion of Knowles’ theory, and probably from anecdotal discussions among most adult educators, there are degrees of ‘readiness’ for Self-directed learning. This is a significant area of research and the majority agreement seems to be that Self-directedness is an aspect of personality that develops as a person matures. Consideration of the stage of professional growth may help an educator understand whether the learner is ready for Self-directedness.
