The Significance of Teachers’ Willingness and Commitment as Self-Directed Learning Agents

Over the last two decades, self-directed learning (SDL) has evolved from a concept in adult education to a fundamental guiding perspective in shaping education. Knowles’ influential research established SDL as the basis of andragogy, emphasising the learner’s and teacher’s self-directed roles in planning, implementing, and evaluating learning. Tough expanded SDL scholarship through empirical investigation of how adults pursue independent learning, demonstrating its prevalence. Guglielmino developed the Self- Directed Learning Readiness Scale, providing a tool for conducting SDL in both empirical research and educational practice. Candy provided a theoretical synthesis of SDL in lifelong learning, calling for its inclusion in education. Building on this work, Brockett and Hiemstra developed a model of personal responsibility orientation (PRO), focusing on how learner self-direction interacts with contextual support, and later elaborated the person-process- context (PPC) model as an evolution of their earlier PRO model as a more comprehensive framework. These contributions have established SDL as a fundamental principle of modern learner-centred education, influencing curriculum design and pedagogical innovation. SDL encourages metacognitive techniques that enable learners to manage their educational processes, thereby incorporating goal formulation and progress assessment. Using instructional approaches that encourage autonomy and critical thinking, teachers promote lifelong SDL. This study explores how teachers experience and implement strategies to promote SDL, using a qualitative research design with pre- and post-face-to-face interviews. Findings highlight the importance of ongoing professional development, reflective teaching practice, and learning environments that nurture self-directedness in both learners and teachers. Adopting SDL as a personal and pedagogical practice positions teachers as facilitators of critical and creative thinking—skills essential for learner success in an evolving educational landscape.