One of the great difficulties one finds when debating with some home educating parents is in the definition of terms. In other words, being sure that you are both talking of the same thing and mean the same thing by the same words. Nowhere is this more clearly illustrated than with the use of the expression 'autonomous education'. I am regularly denounced for not understanding this concept and many proponents of the practice undertake to explain in simple language exactly what it is. Unfortunately, their definitions are not all identical.
I have been moved to reflect upon this recently by the suggestion made by a few people commenting here that I am myself an autonomous educator! This is an astounding proposition, but one which I am quite prepared to entertain. Let me first outline my educational philosophy. I believe that there exists a body of knowledge and canon of literature which it is my duty to impart to my child. I decided what was important and set out to get her to learn what I had chosen in the most effective ways that I could find. Sometimes this was by means of conversation and experiment; at other times by use of books and visits to lectures and museums. Although I was always happy to explore any by-ways of knowledge which took her fancy, I worked strictly to a curriculum of my own devising. That this system could possibly be described as 'autonomous education', I find astonishing! If it is, then I fear that the very expression is essentially meaningless, or rather can have so many meanings that it is pointless to use it.
For what it is worth, my own understanding of autonomous education is that the child herself is in control of her learning and decides for herself which direction the education should take. This is why so many autonomous educators were opposed to the idea contained in both the Badman report and the CSF BIll, that an annual plan of education should be provided by parents. Since the education was directed by the child, how could the parent predict what would be happening? I would be very interested to hear any other definitions of autonomous education which readers wish to provide. I cannot think it true that I really am, as some suggested a couple of days ago, an autonomous educator, but I am open minded about this.
Perhaps using conversation as the primary educational tool qualifies one to be described in this way, or being prepared to allow the child to investigate all sorts of other areas outside the planned curriculum. It would, after some of the harsh things which I have had to say about this pedagogical technique, be ironic in the extreme should I turn out to be such an educator myself!
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"For what it is worth, my own understanding of autonomous education is that the child herself is in control of her learning and decides for herself which direction the education should take."
ReplyDeleteThat is correct, so if your child asked you to do a curriculum for her to follow and willingly followed that, then your daughter was autonomous.
If a child wants to go to school, and the parents facilitate that, then that child is autonomous. If a child doesn't want to go to school, and the parent forces them to go to school, then that child is not autonomous.
If a home educated child wishes to do an OU course or to follow some other such curriculum, and the parents facilitate that, then that is autonomous. If a child is not given a choice, but it told by the parent that they will follow a particular curriculum then that is not autonomous.
There is also the misunderstanding of structure too. Structured and non-structured home education is on a separate continuum to autonomous/coerced home education. You can be a very structured autonomous HEer, or a very unstructured coercive HEer.
An example of the later is when a child is desperate to do workbooks, and the parents forbid it and tell them to go outside and amuse themselves trusting that an education will happen without any input.
Many people assume that if you are autonomous you are also unstructured but that is not always the case. It is who is in the driving seat, not which car they are driving that defines autonomous education.
Thanks for that. As I suspected, by this definition I am a structured, coercive home edcuator. That is weight off my mind, at any rate!
ReplyDeleteOf course, a natural corrolary of the above definition would be that autonomous education must be by far and and away the most popular method of education in this country. Most of the kids to whom I talk are happy to go to school and would choose this over staying at home with their parents. I would guess that this means that most school children are autonomously educated.
ReplyDeleteAutonomous home education must surely mean that the child is directing the education - or, at the very least, is not forced to submit to another person's plan for their education. Dictionary definitions of autonomy cover independence, self-government, self-determination and so on. Exactly how that happens will vary in different families and in different situations.
ReplyDeleteI think that autonomy is a complicated thing in practice. This is because we don't live in a social vacuum. What may appear to be an autonomous path (in as much as no-one else is imposing a course of action) will, of course, be hugely influenced by others' opinions and wishes.
So, in my family, autonomy is something that we value and seek to maximize whilst recognizing that, as social creatures, our own choices are never entirely products of our own desires. In practice that means that we (the parents) don't insist on the children following any particular path in education or undertaking any specific activity. We talk about all manner of things and encourage our children, through trial and error and further investigation, to develop their own choices in education.
I have to say something here, because I too, like Simon do not believe myself or my son to be AEing.
ReplyDeleteHowever, he actively asks what we are going to be studying, therefore I provide a schedule for him, from subjects and topics which I think he should be learning. Is this AE on his behalf?
He may also at times request extensions to what I have provided, and in those instances I endeavour to provide them, or indeed help him to find them himself - is this too AE on his behalf?
Anonymous said...Many people assume that if you are autonomous you are also unstructured but that is not always the case. It is who is in the driving seat, not which car they are driving that defines autonomous education.
AE as I understand it is a situation in which a parent implicitly trust the child with their own learning, allowing them to choose what, how and when they learn.
ReplyDeleteChild led would be allowing the child to suggest an interest then following it up with resources and imput.
Some AE parents use 'strewing'(leaving things for children to see/hear/do) to encourage learning in specific areas whilst other AE parents tend to leave the child to it.
Your way is not one which I would describe as AE. Instead you seem to have thought what you wanted your child to know, worked out the best way for your child to learn, and contrived a situation where this learning could take place.
Maybe the term "contrived opportunity" educator could be used, or ow about "opportunistic educational communication" home educator.
'Maybe the term "contrived opportunity" educator could be used, or ow about "opportunistic educational communication" home educator.'
ReplyDeleteWell, I'm quite happy with highly coercive, structured home educator! I was just a little puzzled to see people describing what I did as being autonomous.
OK. So if Simon doesnt' mind (let me know if you do), I'd like to ask whilst keeping on track with HE v's AE, does anyone think perhaps that a true autonomous approach can only be achieved if the child has never been in a school environment?
ReplyDeletesorry, HE v's AE isnt quite right. lets say Structured v's Autonomous instead. Hope this is alright. :P
ReplyDeleteSimon said ...I was just a little puzzled to see people describing what I did as being autonomous.
ReplyDeleteI think they were trying to show that they used the same tool of speech that you do, hoping probably to somehow help you understand the way AE educators work
Simon also said...Well, I'm quite happy with highly coercive, structured home educator!
The thing is, I fit this description too. And yet I differ in many ways. I regularly dump book work to go off exploring, we have lots of relaxed 'non learning' (which of course ends up in learning all sorts of things' I am not strict on marking and correcting. I follow all sorts of different ideas and philosophies and that changes regularly so I dont know what that would make me. (and dont say flakey! lol)
Yet within all this the kids are learning, doing things they love, and all have high IQs, if you place any value in to that kind of testing.
I dont know that a one-size-fits-all label works with home educators, any more than it works within schools or special needs.
Loz said...does anyone think perhaps that a true autonomous approach can only be achieved if the child has never been in a school environment?
ReplyDeleteI think maybe, yes. Of my HE kids, the oldest went to school and the youngest two only went to nursery. All have needed structure in some form. My youngest ds (who spent the least time in preschool) has needed the least structure so far...time will tell.
As I understand it, autonomous education is defined more by it's goal to be non-coercive and thus only seeks to facilitate the learning that is initiated by the child. So if a child hates a particular area of any subject - say a particular aspect of math or science for e.g.- the child is not then forced to learn that aspect, the child can choose to bypass it altogether. The parent would not attempt to teach the subject if they meet resistance from the child as to do so would be coercive.
ReplyDeleteHowever (through my observations) the autonomous parent may try to weave in the disliked aspect in a less traditional way through exposure, art or some other way so as to make it more palatable or less undesirable to the child or simply wait a bit longer and try again later. This is why I'm skeptical when people announce they completely autonomously HE. I tend to find that people mean differnet things when they use the term.
It's interesting that in America the equivalent of autonomous home education is called 'unschooling' but within 'unschooling' there is exists another affliated style referred to as 'radical unschooling' where autonomy is expanded into all aspects of family life with the children determining their diet, when to do their chores, how long to watch TV etc. Here in the UK I think this type of autonomous home education is rarer, but those who practice it may be more vocal so that for new home educators there arises a confusion between the two separate ethos of the two. Should they suddenly allow their child to play computer games all day. Is it right to give their child workbooks etc.
C said ...Here in the UK I think this type of autonomous home education is rarer, but those who practice it may be more vocal so that for new home educators there arises a confusion between the two separate ethos of the two. Should they suddenly allow their child to play computer games all day. Is it right to give their child workbooks etc.
ReplyDeleteIt was once suggested to me, by a well meaning AEer, that I should allow my son to play with lego for 6 months, and if he wanted to play with it for longer..then why not?
I had several personal reasons 'why not' to give her, but refrained.
What particularly caught my attention with this was that when I enquired if her daughter had any favourite books, I was told that she could neither read nor write well enough to do so yet, and besides she didn't like to read preferring to spend her time with colouring in books.
This certainly did nothing for my confidence with the autonomous route.
ps. her daughter was 10 !
ReplyDeleteI suspect that autonomous home education will often appeal to people who have a more child-led parenting style - and that tends to be something that's hugely influenced by your own up-bringing, I think - either you model on how you were parented or react against it.
ReplyDeleteI grew up in a pretty autonomous household - even though I went to school. My mum never nagged about homework or attempted to direct my path in education. I didn't have bedtimes or chores or rules at all really. I have happy memories of childhood. So I think that's mostly how I've been as a parent - though perhaps we do have a bit more routine in our house - by mutual agreement.
When we decided to home educate I think we were drawn to learning theories that reflected our own parenting experiences so far - that children can self-direct a great deal and that they learn a massive amount that way. Also, I couldn't imagine becoming someone who imposed rules about 'learning' if we didn't impose rules about life in general.
Having said all that - I don't think that it's wise to follow any path through life if it appears to be having negative consequences. I think it's wise to keep reviewing and change where necessary. Of course, that does mean deciding on what your guiding principles are. That's probably a blog post of its own so I'll stop there!
BTW, Loz, do you think your son would have played with lego non-stop for six months?
Allie said...BTW, Loz, do you think your son would have played with lego non-stop for six months?
ReplyDeleteI suspect the answer is no. But it does bring about a question to me (especially concerning children that have been taken out of school to be HE'd), if given the option to return to school, or stay at home and "learn" through the act of play in an autonomous fashion (ie, with lego) I wonder how many children would choose the Autonomous offer?
I too could probably create an entire blog post there! :)
For me the question is; would it be in the childs best interest to allow him/her to play with lego to the exclusivity of anything else simply because he/she enjoys playing lego more than anything else. And is it wise to advise this type of course of action for someone else when you do not know what their children are like?
ReplyDeleteSimon wrote,
ReplyDelete"That this system could possibly be described as 'autonomous education', I find astonishing! If it is, then I fear that the very expression is essentially meaningless, or rather can have so many meanings that it is pointless to use it."
Yesterday I asked if Simone could choose to follow up on your suggestions and questions or if she were not given a choice. Suggestions are fine within AE, compulsion is not. I suggested that if she could refuse to follow up on your suggestions and/or end conversations that did not interest her, then you would be an autonomous educator. I didn't say that you were. It's just that autonomous education could look just the same as the one you described yesterday because you said nothing about compulsion.
"For what it is worth, my own understanding of autonomous education is that the child herself is in control of her learning and decides for herself which direction the education should take."
Agreed. But this doesn't prevents parent making suggestions or beginning conversations about things the parent thinks might be useful for the child to know. It's just that with AE, it's up to the child to decide if it will be useful for them to know.
"Perhaps using conversation as the primary educational tool qualifies one to be described in this way, or being prepared to allow the child to investigate all sorts of other areas outside the planned curriculum."
Not really, these methods can obviously form part of AE and parent-led education, just as more structured learning from text books or correspondence courses can. The difference is in who has the final say over how the child spends their time, the child or the parent.
Just read the first comment by Anonymous and agree completely. A good summary.
Loz said,
ReplyDelete"He may also at times request extensions to what I have provided, and in those instances I endeavour to provide them, or indeed help him to find them himself - is this too AE on his behalf? "
That is AE. AE doesn't mean that the child must do everything for and by themselves (if that's what you mean by 'on his behalf').
"does anyone think perhaps that a true autonomous approach can only be achieved if the child has never been in a school environment?"
One of mine autonomously chose to attend school for a term and a bit.
"What particularly caught my attention with this was that when I enquired if her daughter had any favourite books, I was told that she could neither read nor write well enough to do so yet"
One of my children didn't read until they were 13 but they still had favourite books at 10 because they asked us to read them. For what it's worth, that child is currently gaining top marks at FE college on their first choice course so late reading hasn't held them back.
C said,
ReplyDelete"Child led would be allowing the child to suggest an interest then following it up with resources and imput."
Yes, I suppose child-led education could include coercion - a parent could say 'what are we going to learn for the next 2 hours?', and make the child sit down and study something of the child's choosing even if the child doesn't want to study at that time.
I think child-led without coercion probably describes AE, but this doesn't rule out parents' making suggestions and normal family discussions about topics of interest, as long as coercion isn't involved. I can't imagine a family life in which parents never begin discussions about the world around us unless the child has previously expressed an interest in that subject! Just asking if the family wants to go to the local museum and taking them if they want to go is making lots and lots of suggestions about areas of interest, only limited by the contents of the museum.
Anonymous said...One of my children didn't read until they were 13 but they still had favourite books at 10 because they asked us to read them. For what it's worth, that child is currently gaining top marks at FE college on their first choice course so late reading hasn't held them back.
ReplyDelete*...but they still had favourite books at 10 because they asked us to read them...
Was this an autonomous choice made by them, to get you to do the reading?
Loz wrote,
ReplyDelete"Was this an autonomous choice made by them, to get you to do the reading?"
Yes. Sometimes I'd ask if they wanted me to read to them (sometimes they did, sometimes not), other times they asked me. At various times we got into a regular habit of reading for an two or three hours at roughly the same time each day (sometimes fiction, sometimes non-fiction), other times it was more sporadic. We also read books as a family with me and DH taking turns (to limit sore throats!), the Harry Potter and the Indian in the Cupboard series', for instance. They would also ask me, DH or reading siblings to read non-fiction bits and pieces and/or computer game text during the day.
C wrote,
ReplyDelete"It was once suggested to me, by a well meaning AEer, that I should allow my son to play with lego for 6 months, and if he wanted to play with it for longer..then why not?
I had several personal reasons 'why not' to give her, but refrained."
Maybe you have directed you child away from becoming a physicist by limiting their lego time? [joke] Just found this interview with David Deutsch (co-founder of Taking Children Seriously and Oxford University physicist) about computer games by that reminded me of your comment here.
If your children were playing chess for several hours a day, you would boast about what geniuses they are. There is no intrinsic difference between chess and a video game, or indeed, even between things like playing the piano and playing video games, except that playing the piano has this enormous initial cost. They are similar kinds of activity. One of them is culturally sanctioned and the other is still culturally stigmatised, but for no good reason. I spent a lot of time playing with Lego when I was a child. For some reason, it never occurred to my parents that because I spent hours and hours with Lego, this was bad for me. If it had occurred to them, they could have done a lot of harm. I know now, for myself, that the thing which makes me play video games today is identical to the thing which made me play with Lego then – which is, by the way, the very same thing that makes me do science – that is, the impulse to understand things.
http://www.takingchildrenseriously.com/video_games_a_unique_educational_environment
'Yesterday I asked if Simone could choose to follow up on your suggestions and questions or if she were not given a choice. Suggestions are fine within AE, compulsion is not.'
ReplyDeleteI would not have allowed my daughter to decline to learn to read or grasp the four basic arithmetical operations. The consequences of her refusal would not have been clear to her when she was six. I have always accepted that I must sometimes use compulsion against my child. This might be insisting that she has a vaccination, cleans her teeth, washes and learns to read and write. I do not like compulsion and always tried to keep it to a minimum, but I would not allow my children to decide things which might cause them long-term harm if they chose unwisely. This, to me, was part of responaible parenting.
"I do not like compulsion and always tried to keep it to a minimum, but I would not allow my children to decide things which might cause them long-term harm if they chose unwisely. This, to me, was part of responaible parenting."
ReplyDeleteConversely, if someone believes that coercion is harmful, they would believe that avoidance of compulsion is part of responsible parenting. It is still possible for children to reach adult able to read, do basic arithmetic, have vaccinations and a mouth full of healthy teeth whilst parenting as non-coercively as possible (nobody is perfect). I know, I've got three of them here.
'Conversely, if someone believes that coercion is harmful, they would believe that avoidance of compulsion is part of responsible parenting.'
ReplyDeleteI'm not sure if I would regard coercion as harmful; perhaps undesirable would be a better word. Obviously, nobody in his senses wishes to coerce a child regularly if it can be avoided. On the other hand, it would be a rash person who eschewed coercion entirely.
Old worn out Webb says-I have always accepted that I must sometimes use compulsion against my child.
ReplyDeleteDid you use compulsion on your daughter to work towards and take Exams? if you did what sort of compulsion did you use?
"I'm not sure if I would regard coercion as harmful; perhaps undesirable would be a better word."
ReplyDeleteObviously not, but not everyone agrees with you. We are not all the same and, at least at the moment, we are not all required to be the same (within legal bounds).