Theme: learner-centred approaches to teaching and learner autonomy contents: introduction

Autonomy and the Effects of Societal Changes on Education
After WW II the demand for foreign and second languages increased sharply (Gremmo & Riley, 1995). International trade, easier communication, cheaper transport, a range of international political developments (such as the founding of the UN), and migratory movements all led to an increase in the teaching of foreign and second languages. These developments also influenced the content of what was taught, as communicative skills became more important than ever before. Broady and Kenning (1996) link this to a demand for different language skills: “Using language effectively for communication involves negotiation of meaning, rather than mere decoding of linguistic tokens, thus requiring the ability to cope confidently with unpredictable information” (p.10).
Global changes in the availability of information (cheaper print materials, computer databases, the internet) also heavily influenced what was expected of people in terms of dealing with large amounts of (new) information, relating it to other information and interpreting it (Lamb & Reinders, 2005; Pemberton, 1996). People now needed skills that allow them to adapt to quickly changing circumstances and develop new skills, for there was no longer a fixed body of knowledge that could be transmitted to learners. The increase in the number of university students has resulted in rising costs and some have argued for a long time that it is no longer possible to teach all students all they need to know (Trim, 1976). Crabbe (1993, cites Van Ek, 1975) :
The economic argument is that society does not have the resources to provide the level of personal instruction needed by all its members in every area of learning. Therefore individuals must be able to provide for their own learning needs [...] if they are to acquire the knowledge and skill they want. (p. 443)
Changes in the ways societies work, learn and live, have thus led to the need for life-long learning skills, or the ability to direct one’s own learning and to respond to changes in one’s situation by choosing and managing future learning in the most appropriate way. Education today must provide the skills necessary for this process. On an international level this has been recognised by the European Council which has stimulated research in this area (see also Holec & Huttunen, 1997).