Evaluating Learner Autonomy during the Covid-19: An Examination of Student Teachers’ Self-Directed Learning Readiness for MOOCs

Oct 15, 2026

Uploaded by Mabel

The study examines how student teachers demonstrate self-directed learning readiness and how learner autonomy develops within a MOOC learning environment, using theoretical models of self-directed learning. It is grounded in the rapid move to online education in Turkey triggered by the Covid-19 outbreak, where MOOCs gained attention for enabling mass access to learning opportunities. The research focuses on autonomy in distance learning and aims to inform teacher educators’ assessments of learner autonomy for post-pandemic educational practices.

LanguageEnglish

CategoryResearch & Report

FormatPDF

Pages18

Reading Time45 min

AccessFree to download

Introduction

Learner autonomy and online learning during Covid-19

MOOCs and self-directed learning (SDL)

Rationale, challenges, and study focus

Evaluating Learner Autonomy during the Covid‐19: An Examination of Student Teachers’ Self-Directed Learning Readiness for MOOCs Muhammed Özgür Yaşar PhD Candidate, corresponding author, Department of Foreign Language Education, Eskişehir Osmangazi University, Turkey, [muhammedozgury@gmail.com](muhammedozgury@gmail.com) Derin Atay Prof. Dr., Department of Foreign Language Education, Bahçeşehir University, İstanbul, Turkey, [derin.atay@es.bau.edu.tr](derin.atay@es.bau.edu.tr) In March 2020, the covid‐19 pandemic outbreak forced universities in Turkey to move their educational activities onto online platforms. Massive Open Online Courses (MOOCs) thereupon have gained urgent attention from higher education institutions thanks to their capacity to make educational opportunities accessible to the masses. Similarly, an area of increasing importance recently has been the concept of self-directed learning (SDL) for online learners. The purpose of this study is to find out student teachers’ readiness for MOOCs and their learner autonomy development in a MOOC learning environment based on the theoretical models of SDL. Thus, to expand the capacity for teacher professional autonomy, the present research has focused more on autonomy in distance learning. The study is likely to offer valuable insights into the views of teacher educators on being in a better position to assess the concept of learner autonomy in MOOCs for post-covid educational practices. Keywords: autonomous learning, self-directed learning, massive open online courses (MOOCs), student teachers, teacher education, English language teaching INTRODUCTION Given the distinctive rise of online learning during the covid-19 pandemic, teaching has been conducted remotely and on digital platforms, whereby education has changed fundamentally (Carrillo & Flores, 2020; Li & Lalani, 2020) . Therefore, an area of increasing importance over recent years has been the concept of learner autonomy, which requires learners to manage their own learning with selfdiscipline (Ginting et al., 2020) . Winarti et al. (2022) also indicated that raising their awareness of the benefits of autonomous learning can help learners achieve their specific instructional goals, boost their self-esteem and promote lifelong learning. Given the major importance of self-directed learning (SDL) for online learners with its role in helping individuals to master the necessary skills to work autonomously and use all the opportunities of new technologies, many educators have given priority to and underlined the importance of Massive Open Online Courses (MOOCs), arguing that they have significantly expanded the SDL opportunities to all individuals only with an Internet access (Zhang et al, 2020) . Therefore, SDL has been identified as a significant factor in MOOC success (Kop & Fournier, 2011) . By the same token, as the covid‐19 pandemic outbreak has forced universities around the world to move their educational activities onto online platforms, MOOCs have gained an urgent attention from higher education institutions and educators thanks to their capacity to make educational opportunities accessible to the masses. Citation: Yaşar, M. Ö ., & Atay, D. (2023) . Evaluating learner autonomy during the COVID‐19: An examination of student teachers’ self-directed learning readiness for MOOCs. Anatolian Journal of Education, 8(1), 29-46. [https://doi.org/10.29333/aje.2023.813a](https://doi.org/10.29333/aje.2023.813a) In addition, there is enough evidence in the literature to suggest that learning online can be more effective than traditional face to face learning thanks to some factors such as self-paced learning, rereading, re-watching, skipping, or accelerating through concepts, because e-learning requires 40-60% less time to learn than traditional classroom, and on average learners retain 25-60% more material when learning online compared to only 8-10% in a classroom (Li & Lalani, 2020) . Also, given its c

FAQs

What problem does the study address during the Covid-19 pandemic?

It addresses the shift of university education to online platforms and investigates how learner autonomy and self-directed learning relate to MOOC learning for student teachers.

What is the main purpose of the research?

To determine student teachers’ readiness for MOOCs and to explore how learner autonomy develops in a MOOC environment based on theoretical SDL models.

Why are MOOCs considered important for learner autonomy?

The study links MOOCs to expanding self-directed learning opportunities by allowing learners to manage learning with self-discipline and by making educational access available to individuals with internet access.

Oct 15, 2026

Uploaded by Mabel