Perceptions and patterns of implementation of the heutagogy approach among teacher educators

This study examines how academic teacher-educators (lecturers) experience and describe the implementation of heutagogy (self-determined learning) in their courses, focusing on their motivations, shifts in role perception, and the levels of autonomy they granted to learners. The study employs a qualitative design, 19 lecturers from teacher education in Israel completed questionnaires combining open-ended questions with Likert-scale ratings (1–5), in which they assessed the degree of learner autonomy they afford to students across nine course components. Four central motivations for adopting a heutagogy approach emerged: fostering learner autonomy and responsibility, enhancing the relevance and meaningfulness of learning, addressing learners’ diversity, and responding to rapid technological advancements. Analysis of role perception and autonomy levels revealed considerable variation. Lecturers reported granting learners’ greater autonomy in selecting learning topics, resources, partners, products, and submission methods, while retaining greater control over scheduling, assessment methods, and grading. Based on lecturers’ course self-reported description, four exploratory patterns of implementation were identified: learner-centered, personal-collaborative journey, staged, and hybrid–moderate. The hybrid–moderate pattern was the most prevalent, indicating that full heutagogical implementation remains challenging within existing academic structures. Key challenges included students’ difficulties coping with autonomy and independent decision-making, as well as the intensive demands of individualized mentoring and institutional rigidity that conflict with the flexible nature of the approach. The findings suggest the potential value of structural and cultural change at the institutional level, including greater flexibility in assessment methods and syllabus design, alongside targeted professional development to support lecturers in bridging the gap between their pedagogical approaches and the levels of autonomy they granted to their students in practice.