Freedom of choice contrasted with course ownership – students’ and academic staff’s understanding of learner autonomy in a select engineering school

Résumé En

Discussion of learner autonomy has often been led by educationalists and policy makers. How do learners interpret the notion? This question, as well as addressing how students’ understandings compared to those of their instructors’ were the questions that the research sought to answer. The research undertook to explore the notion of the autonomous learner as understood by 115 students and 49 instructors at a select French higher education engineering school. Data was collected using open-ended questions and analysed using triangulation to reduce systemic bias via multiple qualitative data analysis methods. Four themes emerged from the analysis. Analyses pointed to similarities and to differences in the ways students and instructors understood the meaning of learner autonomy. Divergent perspectives that students and instructors had revealed that students were more concerned with their ability to compose their curricular programme and choose means to attain objectives. Instructors, on the other hand, were concerned with students’ course subject ownership. Recommendations to bridge understandings and help form a shared vision of goals when speaking of learner autonomy are presented.