2. Overview
• Elements of a liberal view are visible in his notion of self-
determination, but he shifts towards a communitarian view
by emphasising the role of the community/’others’
3. Guiding Questions to the
discussion on self-determination
• What is the aim of education?
• Why is self-determination Primary?
• What should constitute Self-determination?
• Consequences of self-determination - allowing the
determination of others
• Two ways of teaching Self-determination – Direct
Instruction vs Self Determination as a procedural
principle
4. Guiding Questions to the
discussion on self-determination
(1)
• What does it mean to be autonomous? Definitions
of Freedom and Autonomy as elements of self-
determination
• Kant - The self legislating moral law
• Isaiah Berlin – Negative and positive freedom
• Dearden – explanation in reference to one’s own
activity of mind
• What kind of education can develop appropriate
forms of reason?
• When is teacher authority necessary?
6. Self-determination and
disempowerment
• Self-determination is achieved when:
• Students have freedom to authentic
self-expression
• They can manage their own learning
• They can create conditions for other’s
self-determination (communitarian
view not individual)
7. Disempowered
• When students are subjected to
presumed interest and or purposes of
‘others’
(government/industry/educational
institutions/parents/family)
8. Self-determination in
education
• Self-determination results in students being
more capable of:
• spontaneous self-expression,
• independence of thought, and
• autonomous decision making.
• Education should provide environments that
are conducive to the development of the above.
9. Educational aim
• Students should be able to communicate
their views and knowledge freely
(individual freedom).
• Meeting the need for self-determination
should be made an educational aim.
10. Self-determination, freedom
and autonomy
• Freedom/liberty can be seen as positive or negative (Isaiah
Berlin)
• Positive: “What or who, is the source of control/interference
that can determine someone to do, or be, something?
• Negative: What is the area in which a person(s) should be left
to do or be what he is able to do or be, without interference
by other persons?
11. Positive liberty/freedom
• When the source of determination of one’s
doing or being is oneself-
• one is self-determined and possesses positive
liberty/freedom.
• One controls and influences oneself.
• Is self-determination inherited or acquired –
HOW?
12. Liberal rationalism
• Freedom is dependant on reason.
• One is aware of rules – we subject them to
reflection and criticism.
• Rule-governed thoughts where outcomes are
determined by reasons one has for beliefs and
actions.
• Liberal rationalism locates the development of
reason in a liberal education where knowledge
has logical forms.
13. Freedom vs control
• It does not mean that students should not
accept the authority of the teacher nor that the
teacher should not exercise control.
• The question is: When should authority be
exercised through control?
14. Authority and control
• Walker argues that when it is necessary to
secure conditions for development of self-
determination, this can be done when there is
agreement between student and teacher (to
discuss again later – learning communities)
15. Self-determination,
authenticity and the self
• Identification of the self.
• Differentiate the self from the non-self
(within and outside the human person).
• Also distinguish between ‘true self’ and
‘false self’
16. True vs False self
• True self is self-determined
• It is when I:
• Set my own boundaries
• Am aware of my own beliefs and
desires
• Can say ‘yes’ and ‘no’ when required.
• False self is other determined
(dependency on others)
17. Self-determined and
other-determined
• Some aspects of our personality are self-
determined whilst some are
other-determined.
• We can differentiate between characteristics of
our own self and characteristics of other selves
(personal identity research)
• i.e. healthy living /promoting well-being is
mostly learnt in families (learning right from
wrong)
18. Establishing self-determination
• Its social: bound in community with others (from
infancy to adulthood, or from the family
outwards).
• Child’s discovery of outer world.
• Discovers differences between self and others
later.
• Development of independence.
• Development of true autonomy.
19. Developing Self-determination in
education
• Trust is required to develop authentic self-
expression (adult/child and teacher/learner)
• Must seek relationship of mutual trust and
respect (implicit agreement)
• Self-determined learning occurs where an
agreement exists to participate in learning (no
agreement requires self-discipline and self-
control)
20. Agreement toward self-
determined learning
• Agreement to learn together, between teacher and learners is
the liberating power of education.
• This agreement requires self- and social control
• It is a commitment to one-self (honor and self-respect) and to
others (creation of a community)
21. Consequences for the learning
community
• Working together
• Learn about each other
• Support each other
• Discover each other’s true selves
• In a classroom – Development of natural
authority, i.e. few discipline problems as learners
accept the authority of the teacher
22. What is the role of natural
authority?
• Flows from authentic expression of learners
and the teacher
• Results from understanding each other’s
purposes and a framework of agreed
classroom practice (flow of communication
and learning)
• Hence control is exercised individually and
collectively through agreed social practices.
23. Implications for teachers
• Individual and collective control requires a skill and
not only will from the teacher.
• It requires the teacher to:
• Master the content of the curriculum
• Understand their learners (how they think and
what they understand, etc.)
• Develop and sustain an agreement between
teachers and learners to develop self-determined
learning within a learning community.
25. Essay due 25 April in class
• Walker introduces communitarian principles in
Education (community, agreement, caring, trust
and Communication). Do you think these
principles violate the liberal values of freedom,
equality, rationality etc?
• Discuss and Provide sufficient argumentation in
your response.
• Relate your discussion to educational practice.
• Maximum 1200 words.
