The effect of curricular activities on learner autonomy: the perspective of undergraduate mechanical engineering students

Abstract

This study researches how first-year engineering students perceived the influence of curricular activities on their own learning autonomy, measured with an adaptation of the Personal Responsibility Orientation to Self-direction in Learning Scale (PRO-SDLS). Participants were questioned to assess the influence of the teacher's role. The results indicate that learners' characteristics (motivation and self-efficacy) contribute more to learner autonomy (LA) than the teaching-learning transaction (control and initiative), as in the original PRO-SDLS validation. The most autonomous learners presented higher values in all LA components and dimensions, but the differences were greater in motivation and initiative. The participants with higher LA were not as dependent on the teacher, regarding assessment, the completion of classroom tasks and deadlines. Regardless of the degree of autonomy in learning, all participants viewed teachers as the main source of information. Therefore, LA plays an important role in teaching activities planning. Suggestions for adjustments and more flexible learning scenarios are formulated. Keywords: higher education; learner autonomy; curricular activities; teachers' role IntroductionThe promotion of autonomy in learning as a purpose of the educational process is not a new issue, much less in higher education, and the 'development of self-learning skills' is one of the ideals that 'higher education should consider' (Esteves 2010, 52). The Higher Education European Policies, namely the Bologna process, emphasise its importance, in particular through the adoption of a student-centred learning paradigm (Leuven Communiqué 2009), which places the responsibility to actively participate in the definition of their own educational process, on the students. It also highlights 'deep learning and understanding, and increased responsibility and accountability on the part of the student' (Lea, Stephenson, and Troy 2003, 322). In Portugal, higher education institutions waited several years for the legislation framework necessary for the implementation of the Bologna process (Veiga and Amaral 2009). Sin (2012, 401) points to an 'engagement with Bologna that appears to have been a bottom-up process, subsequently complemented by topdown legislation', where 'references to student-centred education and a new teaching paradigm seem to have emerged as an acknowledgement of the academic perception' and 'an opportunity to change teaching approaches, transforming students into independent learners at the centre of the educational process'. This independence in learning that means an ability to take charge of one's own learning was designated by Holec (1979) as 'learner autonomy (LA)'. Other authors (Dam et al. 1990;Little 1991) add to this ability the will to act and choose independently, reinforcing the idea that to act as an autonomous learner, the students must have this ability, but also the will to mobilise it for learning.Even students with a high degree of autonomy can choose to learn in a teacher-centred ins...

Professors’ and Students’ Perceptions of Learner Autonomy in the University of Prizren’s Department of English Language and Literature

“…This implies that they are not ready to cooperate with their professors in designing plans related to their courses. This is consistent with a study done by Duarte, Leite, and Mouraz (2015) which found out that regardless of the degree of autonomy in learning, all participants viewed teachers as the main source of information.…”

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Research on the Contributions of Teachers’ Intervention to Language Learner Autonomy

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