Attitudes Toward Self-Directed Learning Practices at University Level: Evidence from Prospective Teachers

Abstract

Self-directed learning is a key competency in teacher education program as it allows to take responsibility for their own learning, to track learning progress, and to assess learning outcomes. The present study examines the attitudes of prospective teachers towards self-directed learning among public and private universities in Lahore. The study also compared the attitudes of male and female prospective teachers in Public and private universities. A Quantitative cross-sectional survey study was employed. A proportionate stratified random sampling technique was used to select the sample of the study and 700 prospective teachers were selected. Data was collected through self-structured questionnaire. The questionnaire consisted on 25 items with five sub dimensions (Setting Learning Goals, Self-Motivation, Self-Management, Self-Monitoring, Self-Evaluation). The reliability of the instrument is Cronbach's α = .782. Descriptive statistics and independent-samples t-tests were used to analyze the data. The overall level of self-directed learning of the participants was moderate. The item mean for taking responsibility for learning was the highest, while for regularly monitoring learning progress was the lowest. For the students from public university and private university, there was a statistically significant difference with students from private university having higher scores on self-directed learning. No significant difference was found between the male and female students. The findings indicate the importance of fostering reflective practices, progress monitoring, and strategic regulation of learning during teacher training programs.