In self-directed education, students learn through activities and life experiences of their own choice. Some people refer to this approach as ‘interest-led learning’ or ‘unschooling’. With support from family, and centres such as Wheelhouse, self-directed learners (SDLs) are highly motivated and experience good mental health.
In fact, research from academics such as Peter Gray and Gina Riley, reveals there are a wide variety of benefits to this style of learning. These include:
- A passion for life-long learning
- Learning to think independently
- Building personal responsibility
- Boosting problem solving skills
- Developing sophisticated social skills
- Deep understanding of subject matter
- High retention rates
Although an SDL may choose to learn in a classroom for some of their education, they also look outside the box to see what other possibilities are a good fit for their interests and preferred learning styles. This might include taking some downtime to daydream, experiment or observe. They may learn from mentors, workshops, online classes, community groups, volunteering, working, extensive reading and even travel. Wheelhouse can assist with many of these. According to an Australian survey by the Home Education Network (HEN) in 2021,self-directed learning is the leading style of home education and is rapidly gaining popularity. It’s also gaining interest within schools–we see this as a positive change that will benefit many students. For those young people who cannot access self-directed learning in a school, or who simply do not thrive in an institutional setting, we would like to invite them to step off the well-trodden path, join us, and seek their true potential.
Recommended Listening
- Life Without School Podcast – Stark Raving Dad
- Off Trail Learning Podcast – Blake Boles
Recommended Reading
- The Self-Driven Child, by William Stixrud, PhD, & Ned Johnson.
- Changing Our Minds, by Naomi Fisher.
- Evidence That Self-Directed Education Works, by Peter Gray
- Dumbing Us Down: The Hidden Curriculum of Compulsory Schooling by John Taylor Gatto
Websites
- Academic research online – www.petergray.org/s-projects-basic
- The Alliance for Self-Directed Education - https://www.self-directed.org/
Recommended Viewing
Wheelhouse 