The pedagogy of autonomy - a positive pedagogy

The 5 paths to emancipation

Every pedagogue knows that the development of learner autonomy accompanies all knowledge acquisition and all social development. When I learn, I take with me extra motivation, pleasure, identity, social ties, a possible future and, above all, autonomy. I have the desire to learn, to live and to chart a course; I choose an ideal program to which I subscribe: to facilitate the building of a human being and a society. The two are inseparable and emancipating.

The philosopher John Dewey even made this a condition for building a democratic society. For me, pedagogy is about creating a harmonious social life that respects everyone's place in it. In the course of my practice, I have identified 5 ways of progressing along this path.

1- Create frameworks to learn to free ourselves from them

Developing learner autonomy is a paradox to be resolved. If, as a teacher or trainer, I organize a learning path that is too structured, I pre-empt part of the learner's power of initiative, and I limit their power of self-direction. But if, on the other hand, I give him complete freedom, I don't protect him from mistakes. He runs the risk of learning by burning himself, and some failures are very bitter. I'm not in favor of learning through pain or domination(black pedagogy). The construction of a framework for action that guides without confining or constraining seems to me a preferable situation.

In a way, a pedagogical framework that is sufficiently structuring in terms of meaning and goals to be deconstructed in terms of everything else (objectives, means, modalities, pace, etc.). The pedagogue strives to find the alchemy between a framework of shared intentions and sufficient freedom to allow motivation to flourish.

2- Deconstructing beliefs in order to reconstruct them

We now have a better understanding of how the brain works. Information is regularly engrammed, and synaptic circuits are progressively reinforced by the same interpretation of perceptions. Patterns of meaning are structured. Imperceptibly, shortcuts are put in place, from which decisions are made. A belief takes root like a path that grows deeper as you walk along it.

Sometimes we delude ourselves into thinking it's an intuition. Research into self-conditioning of the brain using virtual reality is edifying: in less than 8 minutes, we are "really" in another world. The force of habit makes it difficult to change course. Learning is about exploring new paths. It requires deconstructing old beliefs to make room for new ones. Learning involves setting aside beliefs and suspending judgment. Learning is first and foremost unlearning. To do this, we need to confront other beliefs, meet others who are different from ourselves, immerse ourselves in situations without reference points, confront the invisible and the future, question ourselves collectively, raise our level of awareness, and get used to seeing beyond the easy.

Just as we learn alone but never without others, by extension we unlearn alone but never without others. The pedagogical framework that constructs this type of situation is sufficiently open and stimulating to force one to get off one's tracks, and it also offers the methods, tools, space and time to apprehend the unknown. This pedagogical framework cultivates the art of encounter, questioning and reflexivity.

3- Focus on the common rather than individual know-how

Competitive societies strive to identify and promote high-performance individuals. Those who put themselves forward and benefit from the collective, because they know a little more than the others. These individuals are deemed competent. They are, incidentally, encouraged by the individual recognition signals they receive to become independent and to refer only to their own talent, whereas collectives need cooperation and autonomous personalities who adjust in action.

Developing an orientation towards autonomy requires a sense of group and shared achievement. While the independent worker chooses to act alone, the autonomous worker in an organization is bound by a framework of social ties that nurture and support him in his action, and to which he gives back a share of his action. The inclination to independence is to capture value for oneself, while the situation of autonomy produces more exchange and sharing. The pedagogy of autonomy succeeds when it focuses on the production of knowledge commons. It is therefore a pedagogy of project, of collective commitment, guided by values that go beyond the individual.

4- Co-constructing and relying on pedagogical contracts

An educational contract is a dialogue between an individual and the institution offering to train him or her. It sometimes involves an employer. This dialogue organizes a mutual understanding of resources and constraints. It specifies what the training program is likely to change, and what it cannot. It shows how much investment is needed to complete the apprenticeship.

If well executed, it marks out a learning path with intermediate objectives and problem situations to be mastered. It involves a variety of players: manager, tutor, teacher, experts, learning partner. It provides a compass for progress. Armed with this compass, the learner either follows the proposed path or deviates from it.

5- Companionship with a mentor, coach or tutor

The preceptor is the appointed teacher of future kings or leaders. He's a figure of the dual learning relationship. The other through whom we free ourselves from our limits. The formative otherness of preceptorship can be seen in tutoring, mentoring, coaching or mastery. In this case, it's the contact with another person with an identity, a profession or a difference that shaves away our beliefs and roughs us up. The other acts as a rasp against which our illusions cling. The learner is summoned to conform to knowledge through this mediation, which is organized as imitation, questioning, advice, demonstration or modeling.

Autonomy is built through difference to the form offered by the third party reference. Creating one's own style, one's own gesture and diverging from the initial style and gesture, that's what autonomy is all about.

Collective autonomy

To these 5 paths I would add 2 essential components: posture and constant attention to the collective.

The pedagogue's posture means being available without wanting to take the other person's place; it means being aware of the roles of support, awakener, contributor, guarantor and recognition.

Constant attention to the collective is a reminder of our social nature. We are only autonomous in relation to others. We are not autonomous in absolute terms. The collective forms the bath that creates the possibilities of autonomy.

As a bonus, here are 4 remarkable ways to develop autonomy