Self-Directed Learning, Political Clarity, and the Critical Practice of Adult Education

This paper argues that reframing the concept of self-direction as an inherently political idea comprises an important strategic opening in building a critical practice of adult education. Instead of being equated with atomistic self-gratification, self-direction can be interpreted as part of a cultural tradition that emphasizes the individual's standing against repressive interests. As such, the concept has some powerful political underpinnings which, if made explicit, could play a significant role in awakening the critical spirit in American adult education. Two inherently political dimensions of the idea are discussed: first, the recognition that at the intellectual heart of self-direction are issues of control and power that are inescapably political; second, the claim that any authentic exercise of self-directedness requires that certain political conditions be in place.