Cechy indywidualne i czynniki środowiskowe a autonomia uczenia się

Abstract

The work concerns learning autonomy. The text consist of theoretical part and empirical part. Theoretical considerations are devoted to various approaches to autonomy, ways of measuring autonomy and independent learning as well as to present the knowledge on the relationship between individual variables, environmental variables and autonomy. The empirical part presents the assumptions of the empirical research on learning autonomy. The theoretical inspiration to undertake the research was the theory of multidimensional learning, assuming among others leading students gradually to independence in gaining knowledge, experiencing values and acting. Taking into consideration insufficiency of instruments measuring perceptions of autonomous learning difficulty and scarcity of the data concerning the interplay of individual and environmental variables in shaping learning autonomy, two main research aims were formulated. The first aim was the construction of Autonomous Learning Difficulty Questionnaire. The items of the instrument were formulated on the basis of self‑education process as developed in Polish didactics and self‑regulation stages postulated by Barry Zimmerman. The second aim was to verify the model explaining variance in the perceptions of autonomous learning difficulty. The model was based on self‑determination theory assuming the role of individual and environmental traits in shaping person`s autonomy. In the model student` s autonomy support by parents and teachers as well as student`s temperamental traits were regarded as independent variables. The role of mediating variables was assigned to such variables as: student`s preferences towards teachers behaviours fostering autonomy, student`s learning motivation, sense of self‑efficacy and general autonomy. The participants of the main research were 454 students of middle school and secondary school. In the research EAS Questionnaire by Arnold Buss and Robert Plomin was used to measure tempermental traits of emotionality, activity and sociability. Data concerning general Autonomy was gathered by Adolescent Autonomy Questionnaire constructed by Marc Noom and coworkers. Instruments measuring other variables were constructed for the purpose of the research. Autonomous Learning Difficulty Questionnaire which has been constructed allows for the diagnosis of students` perceptions of difficulty of behaviours connected with independent learning such as: reflective evaluation of outcomes, motivational control and planning. Three results which emerged from the verification of the model of relationships between research variables are considered as most important. Among the factors which were taken into consideration in the research the low level of student`s self‑efficacy and low autonomy proved to be the ones strongest related with the perception of high difficulty in autonomous learning. It was also found that low level of self‑efficacy and autonomy is connected with high emotionality, which is the tendency to react with distress, fear and anger. The third result is that the connection between the perception of high difficulty in autonomous learning by a student and the low level of autonomy support received from parents. It is hoped that the Autonomous Learning Difficulty Questionnaire which has been constructed will be useful in diagnostic research and further studies concerning variables influencing difficulty in independent learning.