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This research sought to document the volume, development trend and geographical distribution of the research on teacher autonomy, identify high-impact journals, authors and documents and reveal the intellectual structure of the field.

This paper analyzed the articles published on the related subject in the Web of Science (WoS) and/or Scopus. Based on certain exclusion criteria, analyses were conducted on a total of 259 articles. The data were then subjected to descriptive analyses and bibliometric analyses.

The review found that the teacher autonomy knowledge base has grown dramatically since 2004. In the co-citation analysis, it was determined that four clusters focused on the themes of professionalism and professional development, leadership and self-efficacy, autonomy in language teaching and learning and self-determination theory. According to the co-word analysis in this review, the most co-occurring keywords were revealed to be “teacher autonomy,” “autonomy,” “teachers,” “teacher professionalism” and “professional development.”

Despite increasing numbers of systematic reviews focusing on educational administration and leadership, this paper represents the first bibliometric review conducted to reveal the development of research on teacher autonomy using both the WoS and Scopus databases. Teacher autonomy can be regarded as an emerging field of study backed up by a theoretical background. Although there are some distinct prominent scholars in the research area, autonomy research still needs more scholars to specialize in the field.

The purpose of this study was to explore the experiences of former teachers who transitioned into self-directed education (SDE), a K-12 educational paradigm where learning is authentically student-led.

Drawing on Ivan Illich’s Deschooling Society and qualitative thematic analysis of interviews with educators who have left conventional teaching, the research delves into understanding the modern concept of deschooling, critique of conventional schooling’s limitations and the implications of both for the future of educational practice.

The study highlights the themes that emerged from a cross-analysis of text and lived experience, emphasizing the need for childhood autonomy and agency in approaches to education. This study reveals a reimagined relationship and new profession for educators as they reemerge on the other side of the deschooling process. This study offers insights into the transformative potential of deschooling and SDE’s alignment with Illich’s vision for a lifelong learning society that transcends institutional constraints, thereby contributing to the discourse on educational reform and the empowerment of authentic learner-directed education.

Research on SDE as a field is quite limited, with no known prior empirical studies on SDE mentors or their process of deschooling. This work also provides theoretical novelty in using Deschooling Society as a lens for understanding the phenomenon of deschooling through lived experience as a critique of modern society and creating a real, re-envisioned future.

Programming education is being rapidly transformed by generative AI tools and educators must determine how best to support students in this context. This study aims to explore the experiences of programming educators and students to inform future education provision.

Twelve students and six members of faculty in a small technology-focused university were interviewed. Thematic analysis of the interview data was combined with data collected from a survey of 44 students at the same university. Self-determination theory was applied as an analytical framework.

Three themes were identified – bespoke learning, affect and support – that significantly impact motivation and learning outcomes in programming education. It was also found that students are already making extensive use of large language models (LLMs). LLMs can significantly improve learner autonomy and sense of competence by improving the options for bespoke learning; fostering emotions that are conducive to engendering and maintaining motivation; and inhibiting the negative affective states that discourage learning. However, current LLMs cannot adequately provide or replace social support, which is still a key factor in learner motivation.

Integrating the use of LLMs into curricula can improve learning motivation and outcomes. It can also free educators from certain tasks, leaving them with more time and capacity to focus their attention on developing social learning opportunities to further enhance learner motivation.

To the best of the authors’ knowledge, this is the first attempt to explore the relationship between motivation and LLM use in programming education.

This study examined the implementation of an agile-blended learning (ABL) approach in a master-level early childhood research course and assessed its impact on the learning experience. The purpose was to understand how incorporating ABL concepts affected flexibility, learner autonomy, collaboration and technology mediation, the core principles of ABL.

A participatory case study methodology was employed to gather insights from 40 students regarding their experiences in the redesigned research course. Data were collected through interviews, observations and document analysis. Qualitative data were thematically analyzed and quantitative data descriptively analyzed.

ABL fostered flexibility, convenience and learner autonomy. However, students desired richer interpersonal interactions. Technological integration enhanced learning, but social presence was lacking.

The study was limited to a specific master-level early childhood education course and focused on a particular group of students. Further research is needed to examine the generalizability of the findings in different educational contexts and student populations.

Recommendations include ongoing professional development and support systems to optimize ABL realization. Sustaining ABL practices necessitates flexible, empowering institutional structures.

This study contributes to the literature by exploring the potential of ABL in the context of early childhood research education. It provides empirical evidence of the benefits of ABL for increased flexibility, learner autonomy, collaboration and technology mediation. The case study design adds to the originality by offering insights into the practical implementation of ABL in an educational setting.

Drawing primarily on the Japanese context, this study aims to highlight this setting to emphasise the potential for tertiary-level self-access language centres to develop lifelong global citizenship, self-reflection and cross-cultural collaboration.

This inquiry calls on the community of practice approach to account for the shared interests motivating lifelong cross-cultural participation, the quality of social engagement between actors, and the material and cognitive tools called upon to realise global citizenship’s shared enterprise.

As argued here, embracing various cultures and inclusive participation can lead to a broader understanding of global citizenship, avoiding narrow-minded views of globalism through shared knowledge and critical practices. Further, self-access provides a cost-effective, technology-mediated alternative to bilateral student mobility, whereby digital community-building occasions cross-cultural practice that may be extended throughout a learner’s life, irrespective of their financial status or place of study.

This study is one of a select few drawing on the community of practice framework within the context of lifelong global citizenship. Nevertheless, such an approach remains primed for future development. With a social constructivist philosophy in view, the authors suggest complementary qualitative research approaches that highlight the socially situated nature of both disciplines.

This study investigates user preferences for motivational features aligned with self-determination theory (SDT), emphasizing autonomy, relatedness, and competency. The study seeks to identify the most appealing and effective motivational features in AI-driven mobile apps for fostering autonomy, promoting relatedness, and enhancing feelings of competency in the context of reading comprehension.

Employing a mixed-methods research design based on the self-determination theory, the study used triangulation of methods to enhance the research findings' quality, completeness, validity, and understanding.

Both qualitative and quantitative findings showed similarities in the emphasis on personalization, progress tracking, social interaction, gamification, differences in specific feature preferences, and nuanced recommendations, highlighting the importance of a comprehensive and user-centric development approach.

The study design and sample size might constrain the statistical power and generalizability of the results. The study used a convenience sample of students from one school.

The synthesis of findings suggests the need for a comprehensive development strategy that incorporates both the commonalities and nuanced recommendations from qualitative and quantitative data. Combining the strengths of both findings, a holistic user-centric approach that integrates personalization, progress tracking, social interaction, and gamification is crucial for effective app development. Recognizing that individual preferences may vary, developers should consider tailoring features to accommodate a range of user needs, as indicated by qualitative and quantitative insights.

This comprehensive approach contributes to advancing knowledge in AI-driven mobile applications and their impact on student motivation and reading comprehension in the Philippine context. Also, it provides valuable insights for designers and developers, contributing to creating engaging and user-friendly platforms that enhance reading comprehension skills.

Computer-assisted language learning (CALL) can create participatory cultures by removing barriers to access materials, encouraging student modes of expression, differentiating student interactions through digital environments and increasing learner autonomy. Participatory cultures require competencies or new media literacy (NML) skills to be successful in a digital world. However, professional development (PD) often lacks training on CALL and its implementation to develop such skills. The purpose of this study is to describe teachers use of digital tools for multilingual learners through a relevant theoretical perspective.

This design-based research study examines 30 in-service teachers in South Carolina, a destination state for Latinx immigrants, focusing data over three semesters of PD: interviews and instructional logs. The researchers address the question: How are teachers using digital tools to advance NML for multilingual learners (MLs)?

The authors analyzed current elementary teachers’ use of digital tools for language learning and NML purposes. Three themes are discussed: NMLs and digital literacy boundaries, digital tools for MLs and literacy teaching for MLs and NML skills.

Teacher PD often needs more specificity regarding the intersection of MLs and digital literacy. The authors contribute to the literature on needed elementary teaching practices for MLs, the integration of NML and how these practices may be addressed through PD.

Employee training and learning have transformed over the years. The movement from classroom training to the blended format represents the magnitude of this evolution. This has placed much attention on self-regulated learning. This study aimed to understand the individual and organizational mechanisms that sustain the formal learning process in organizations. It explored the goals the organizations and employees strive to achieve by investing in learning. Through this, the authors investigated how technology assistance makes learning more goal-oriented, despite the possibility of different goals for different stakeholders. They also examined how person-job fit can be achieved in employee training.

The study adopted a grounded theory-based inductive approach using a qualitative inquiry that used in-depth interviews of employees working in the Indian IT/ITES sector. This sector is knowledge-intensive and engages in constant skill development. A content analysis of the interview transcripts unraveled the most relevant themes from the participants' discussion.

Individual learners use dimensions of self-regulated learning to set and achieve goals such as better performance and career development. On the other hand, organizations use learning support mechanisms such as better access and flexibility to direct employee learning behavior to achieve organizational goals. Focusing on goal congruence leads to better achievement of results. Goal congruence also implies good person-organization fit.

This research established how aligning individual and organizational mechanisms can help achieve training goals that ultimately contribute to organizational performance. The study differentiated itself by investigating training goal setting and goal achievement at two levels – organizational and individual – using a qualitative approach. It also showed how goal congruence is vital in improving organizational performance and how technology-enabled training practices rely on self-regulated learning and help achieve goal congruence.

This study aims to investigate a unique approach to learning languages through self-directed online learning. Specifically, it explores the self-management abilities and skills learners need while learning a language outside traditional classroom settings when using mobile-assisted learning technology.

A mixed-methods approach was used in this study, including an online survey of 84 people and 10 semi-structured interviews.

Findings reveal the significant role of specific and well-defined learning goals in enhancing learners’ performance. These goals can be either self-initiated by the learners themselves or defined by the technological features of the learning platform. However, the presence of distractions in learners’ daily lives presents challenges to effective time management, affecting learners both physically and psychologically. A key aspect of self-directed language learning lies in the learners’ ability to seek out relevant human and material resources beyond the confines of a single mobile-assisted language learning (MALL) tool. The authenticity of these resources is crucial in ensuring meaningful and effective learning experiences.

Understanding how learners navigate and discover valuable resources is a central focus of this study. This research offers valuable insights into the field of self-directed language learning, revealing the pivotal role of self-management skills with mobile-assisted learning technology. The findings contribute to the broader field of language education and offer practical implications for educators and developers seeking to optimize self-directed language learning experiences through innovative and technologically driven approaches.

MALL is often ideal for individualized informal learning, but the existing literature focuses heavily on formal learning situations, underestimating the importance of MALL practices in various informal settings. Most research reports on MALL-based self-directed learning primarily sample traditional English-learning university students. Therefore, there is a need for research on how nontraditional older adult learners self-direct their language learning with mobile technology outside the classroom.

This study aims to examine the effects on student motivation and perception of technological interventions within undergraduate mechanical engineering and product design and manufacture programs at a Sino-foreign international university. The authors use an augmented reality game application within a class on Design for Manufacturing and Assembly (DfMA) that was developed using the approaches of microlearning and digital game-based learning (DGBL).

Structured as design-based research, the study reports on developing innovative educational interventions and provides an empirical investigation of their effectiveness. Data were collected using a mixed methods approach, using pre- and post-tests and questionnaires, together with researcher observations and participant interviews.

Through two rounds of playtests, the game positively affected intrinsic motivation and encouraged higher-order cognitive learning, critical thinking, communication and collaboration. Collaborative learning plays a significant role, DGBL is preferred over traditional methods and microlearning reduces information density and cognitive overload.

The study contributes to our understanding of digital game-based interventions on students’ intrinsic motivation and provides insights into effective ways to design instructional materials in similar teaching and learning settings.