688 Sel 4688 SelDireted Learning _ ues to. provoke self- between virtual and hat technologycen- evocative object that contin reflection and creates a tension i She proposes t! Be pare sping popsise undesanins ‘of human nature and worldviews, extending earlier frames including Freudian psychology on the divided mind and Darwinian biological views of ‘humans as organisms in the animal world. Ineerac- tion with computers, she argues, makes the user ‘consider deeper philosophical questions of self, et ‘mortality, and even sensuality. In this ‘she sees her work as contributing to ge of computer cultures as well as leading ‘of the sociology of knowledge, ; not as deterministic but being aning people give to it. Ellen S. Hoffman nm, E, S. (2015). Second ‘The SAGE encyclopedia (Vol. 2, pp. 629-631). Tough in the 1960s and 19% that self-directed learning more than 80% of all adult leg ring in isolation, however, theme of research in this area ig, learners move in and out of lean consult a range of peers and js that decisions about what and hg which resources to consult rest “Tough’s work tiger studies conducted across the: world and influenced Malcolm Kr of andragogy, regarded by many comerstone of adult education. ing has become so popular that an tional conference widely used self-directed learni has been developed, and ae directed growth and development posed. The emergence of online and asynchronous modes of insta vided a boost ro the idea given that pee eo eena over decisions pace (though often not the irection) the learner’s hands. act 4 Several explanations have been account for the populasty of the. directed learning. One is that in an iting and reductions in public spe are i that adults are quis cape oe managing their own learning wit fance of profession & al ‘ational funds away from. use adults, 4 Chern 38 self-directeden much less o ® SoWves for adult educators the vow they are t describe themeehon isan adul-specifc learning modei “woke adult educators ean elaim a ai entity for themselves as facilitators ef J earning. ‘he Self in Self-Directed Learning Tough’s initial research there have been three of critical analysis of its contentions and “ppositions, much of it centering on the nature he self” in a self-directed learning project. It is jnportant to recognize that the self that is involved snducting learning is culturally formed and o we are and how we decide what is ant for us to be able to know or do are of culture. The self in a self-directed ning project is not an autonomous, innocent contentedly floating free from cultural influ. ences. It has not sprung fully formed out of a political vacuum, It is, rather, an embedded self, a self whose instincts, values, needs, and beliefs have been shaped by the surrounding culture. As such, it isa self that reflects the constraints and contradic- 's well as the liberatory possibilities, of that. The most critically sophisticated and reflective adults cannot escape their own autobiog- raphies. Only with a great deal of effort and a lot of assistance from others can we become aware of how what we think are our own wholly altruistic impulses, free from any bias of race, gender oF class, actually end up reinforcing ive struc tures. Hence, an important ae a fully adult self-directed learning project should be a reflective awareness of how one’s desires and needs have been culturally formed and of how cultural factors convince one to pursue learning projects that are against one’s own best interests. ent Philip Candy is one of the few ; consistently argued for this kind interpretation of self- n Satie ee - implies a Self-Directed Learning and the Politics of Learner Control At the intellectual heart of self-direction is the issue of control, particularly control over what are con- ceived as acceptable and appropriate learning activities and processes. Exercising self-direction equites that certain conditions be in place regarding access to resources, conditions that are essentially political in nature. An understanding of self-direction that focuses on the learner's control over learning, and on the importance of full access to information in self-directed learning, implies an. important political dimension to the idea. The one consistent element in the majority of definitions of self-directed learning is the impor- tance of the learner’s exercising control over all educational decisions. What should be the goals of a learning effort, what resources should be used, ‘what methods will work best for the learner, and by what criteria the success of any learning effort should be judged are all decisions that are said to test in the learner’s hands. This emphasis on control—on who decides what is right and good and how these things should be pursued—is also central to notions of emancipatory adult education. Self-direction as an organizing concept for adult ‘education therefore contains some powerful impli- cations for practice that are political in nature. It democratic commitment to shifting to srners as much control as possible for conceptu- ng, designing, conducting, and evaluating their how resources are to be esses. Honoring people’s as abandoning one’srected Learning a 690 _ Sel : be center an alertness to the possibility politically, self-direction can more pe since engaged in this fully realized seen as part ofa populist democratic hic Tat directed learning would. understand Shiipep etme | elas Be eeenieiiccrhce waycourl Thisiswhy the form of ay automat selFee Fete ap aciedictton is wiewed with suspicion instinctive reaction that “1 cat leara by advocates ofa core or national curriculum, and its out of bounds” (that is, unpatriotic, why iis opposed so vehemently by those who see subversive). fully adult form of Beco a proces of induction into cultural exists only when learners examin tag fiesacy, Emphatizing people's right to self-direc- of what chey chink is important for th ron allo invests a certain erst in their wisdom, in forthe extent co which these end up sem their capacity to make wise choices and take wise sive interests. ’ ations, Advocating that people should be in.con- Being in control of learning means th weslof their own learning is based onthe belief that ers make informed choices. Making i ‘Epeople had a chance to give voice to what most choices means, in turn, that they actrefl hurts them, they would soon show that ways that further their interests. But it ‘only too well aware of the real nature of choices can be made only with as full ‘and of ways to deal with these. edge as possible about the different optio conscious, sele-aware exertion of con- to learners and the consequences of each ‘is placed at the heart of what it Control chat is exercised on the basis information and unexamined alternatives torted, mindless, and illusory form of c may lead people to devote enormous am« energy to making individual increm: ments to their daily existence without that these tinker with symptoms while unaddressed the structural changes nece: their efforts are to have anything other th ing significance. With regard to the impo eal access to all relevant informatio 1g aware of how learnit jects ‘been culturally framed, itis noel cl ‘edge that these are tentative ideals. Learn ‘ever be in a position of rotal omniscience they have constant access to every piece it information about all the problems thé feds. Possess such a pure : it into. thei : impulses that it enables them to dis tinge real and artificial t need: ang sorcery ane fees However, just as imp FS act as if these ideals could4p inauthentic, limited form of sel jent when learners’ efforts to deya yes as learners remain at the level of ph <* yeferences because the resources ‘eet jon are unavailable or denied to them, 5 se conttol over learning is meani if “peses only an intellectual analy *piems and solutions, Learners may be} (ye an accurate reading of their condi ‘ey may secure all kinds of aower to do something about it re more plentiful, but if this is the qotrol then they are doing little resources needed to act on these sif-directed can therefore be ii ing as learners come to a critical ‘erential distribution of resour conduct theie self-directed. Self-directed learning will influence for many more years, Its nialty in a culture of indivi continuing popularity, while the biities it contains appeal to the 's strain in much adult educatic Note: Adapted from Broo! ‘rece learning. In A, DiStefan ‘\) Silverman (Eds.), The en “ring (pp, 397-399). Thousan ako Adults Learning Coding. (rniogs Ineergenerational “owide Science Learnings P * Outof-School Learning “A. D, (1985), Selfedir Ae 10 practice. San Fi seo, CA: Jossey-B Ms 8 Collins, Re Critical practice, fe M: (1979) The a ‘ct cboroach to theory anh for gt Toronto, Ontario, Gal ‘ies in Education, ey Tare Past 5 years has witnessed e in self-publishing by both u precipitated Gn ‘tools for dis- aline audiences. This entry Is used for self-publishing, how S used in learning environments, ages and disadvantages of hing is the x5 on platforms such laform Kindle Direct easier to distribute nd distribu- CreateSpace, Aappe ing sich as iBooks Author, oklet allow students and books using EPUB,