An Agentic Perspective Contrasting Autonomous Learning with Self-Directed Learning: A Theoretical Discussion

Abstract

Recent research has focused on autonomous learning without offering a clear differentiation between this construct and self-directed learning. The purpose of this article is to provide a heuristic position—that is, a speculative, theoretical formulation—that suggests autonomous learning can be manifest in all three modes of agency (i.e., individual, proxy, or collective; Bandura, 2006) in the activation of learning activities; however, self-directed learning represents the degree to which personal agency is exercised individually by directing the creation of such activities. Thus, autonomous learning represents a necessary but not sufficient condition for self-directed learning.