Learning From SDE (Self-Directed Education) Practitioner-Experts: Radically Imagined Places and Praxis

• In Event: Place and Praxis in the Radical Imaginary of Self-Directed Education

Abstract

Purpose
Parents want to know more about self-directed education (SDE) (Vesneski et al., 2022). Unfortunately, educational researchers have virtually ignored SDE approaches, despite decades of observations by practitioners that they provide a place for children to flourish without use of dehumanizing, coercive practices. This study investigates pathways to learning, career and college readiness, and challenges in SDE practitioner-expert published accounts.
Theoretical Perspectives
Self-reported polls of secondary school students revealed that students were unhappiest in school and in anticipation of school (Moeller et al., 2020). Additionally, roughly two-thirds of high schoolers are disengaged in school, and most become increasingly bored from elementary to high school (Calderon & Yu, 2017; Jason, 2017; Marks, 2000). Such findings are alarming because adverse feelings and disengagement are associated with low achievement (Calderon & Yu, 2017, Hao et al., 2018) and diminished wellbeing (Van Ryzin et al., 2009).
In contrast, practitioners of self-directed education (SDE) create places such as homes, homeschool centers, and SDE schools that depart significantly from conventional schooling. As Gray (2017) notes, these places of self-education can be highly effective, providing “an environment in which [students] can interact freely with others across a broad range of ages, can experience first-hand what is most valued in the culture, and can play with, and thereby experiment with, the primary tools of the culture” (p. 1).
Methods and Data Sources
SDE research poses challenges due to a lack of quantitative data, access, resources, and time to do field research. Thus, I conducted a qualitative document analysis (Morgan, 2022) to analyze preexisting texts written by SDE practitioner-experts. I evaluated 12 books for authenticity, credibility, representativeness, and meaning (Kridel, 2015), ultimately selecting six books that met my criteria. To be inclusive of diverse perspectives, at least one book each was written by SDE practitioners with expertise in different SDE settings (e.g., unschooling, democratic/free schools, Liberated Learners). Then a colleague and I independently coded one book, identifying evidence matching three themes: pathways to learning, career and college readiness, and challenges. We compared and refined our initial codes, identified exemplars, and wrote definitions for a codebook (Saldaña, 2021), which we then used to code the remaining books.
Findings
For this presentation, I highlight data related to SDE places. Places that provided pathways to learning included homeschool centers where classes and one-to-one tutorials were offered, SDE schools that provided abundant informal learning opportunities as well as classes and clubs, and external places such as neighborhoods, community college, and outdoor spaces. Places that provided class and career readiness included internship locations, early college programs, volunteer opportunities, and places for hobbies that often turned into career opportunities. Further, these places provided ways for school resisters, LGBTQ and neurodiverse students to find community and for all to develop social skills through interactions with peers and adults. For families and teachers, the most common challenges to creating these spaces were financial.
Significance
This study provides the first collective analysis of SDE practitioner accounts. This much-needed project lays the groundwork for future empirical research.

Author

• Matthew J. Shumski, University of Oregon