Self-directed learning as a basis for complex leisure

Abstract

Self-directed learning (SDL) is intentional self-planned activity where the individual is clearly in control of this process. Such learning may be formal (here it would be synonymous with adult education), but most often, it is informal. There are many areas of human life where it is practiced. In leisure, three critical questions emerge. One, how does SDL vary across the serious leisure perspective, including project-based leisure? Two, how does SDL vary across the life course and how does it relate to lifelong learning? Three, what role does SDL play in the larger society? Other areas of concern covered in this article include SDL and the quality of information, Internet, and digital technology, and leisure literacy as an aspect of leisure education. Finally, it is argued that SDL constitutes a distinctive component of leisure, when the latter is conceived of as a major domain for experiencing freedom.