Teacher education and educational self-direction: A conceptual analysis and empirical investigation

Abstract

The purpose of this paper is to examine the concept of educational self-direction in teacher education, an educational environment that encourages the use of initiative, thought and independent judgment in learning. First, this concept is examined conceptually. The theory and research on occupational self-direction is summarized, and the relevance of this work to education settings is analyzed. Second, the concept is examined empirically. The development of an instrument to assess educational self-direction is documented. Data from two separate studies indicated that the questionnaire was reliable (alpha values from 0.63 to 0.84), and valid. Finally, implications of this work for research on teacher education are considered.