Self-organized learning at secondary school. An investigation into inter-individual differences among students in dealing with learner autonomy

The ability to independently acquire new knowledge and to regulate and organize one's own learning has become a key qualification in today's information society due to the rapid changes in knowledge. Their importance for school practice is currently being highlighted again due to COVID-19 and the switch to distance learning in many countries. Self-organized learning requires that learners become active designers of their own learning process. This study assumes that not all students know how to deal constructively with the autonomy expected of them in self-organized learning, as they differ both in terms of the necessary skills for self-regulation of learning (learning strategies, metacognition) and in terms of the motivational prerequisites for learning. The subject of the study is therefore inter-individual differences in self-organized learning among students, which are methodically examined using a sequential mixed-methods approach. Based on a quantitative sample of 1363 students from high schools in the canton of Bern, four learner types are formed using cluster analysis, which differ in their self-efficacy beliefs with regard to their subject-specific and interdisciplinary learning. This is followed by a qualitative in-depth study in which a total of 27 students of the various types were selected and questioned in focused guided interviews about their perception of self-organized learning and their ideas about teaching and learning. Finally, two maximally contrasting cases are selected and portrayed using quantitative and qualitative data. The results show that the four learner types differ significantly from one another, although not in all aspects examined. Significant explanatory power is attributed to a particular conception of learning, which is more evident in the type of successful learners: individuals of this type view learning as a challenge and an opportunity for personal development, accept that learning opportunities involve uncertainty, and at the same time emphasize that persistence is necessary for successful learning.