RESEARCH INTO THE VETERAN TEACHERS’ VIEWS OVER THE EFFECTS OF SELF-DIRECTED LEARNING ENVIRONMENT ON STUDENTS’ ACADEMIC ACHIEVEMENTS (CROSS-CULTURAL STUDY)

Abstract

Self-directed Learning, from the beginning of learning process, includes choosing the appropriate learning strategy, learning in accordance with its goal, controlling and regulating the way to reach the goal, realizing its purpose and evaluating the results. The aim of this study is to determine and evaluate the views of veteran teachers serving in Primary Schools and Secondary Schools in some countries over the effects of Self-Directed Learning environments on students’ academic achievements in their school lives. We asked two open ended questions to the participant teachers to obtain the data: “What are the benefits of Self-Directed Classroom for your students?”, and “What do you do to implement Self-Directed Learning in your classroom?” We used a qualitative research method to evaluate and compare the views of veteran teachers in terms of students’ academic achievements in school environment. The research was carried out with the participation of ten veteran teachers working in various Primary Schools and Secondary Schools in some countries over the world. The views of veteran teachers obtained through face-to-face interviews, e-mails and comments to Teachers Blog of Edutopia suggest that their approaches to Self-Directed Learning environments promote the students’ interest in learning, thus contributing to their academic achievement, self-regulation skills, selfefficacy, self-esteem, motivation and collaborative learning in classroom environment