12 high-performing self-taught adults, very similar to study described in Bouchard, 1996Bouchard, P. (1996). A Study of Self-Directed Professionals of High Attainment. and Bouchard, 1996Bouchard, P. (1996). Towards an etiological model of self-directed professional development. Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council of Canada: Ottawa, Ont.

Opposing self-directed learners to other-directed learners, rather than non-learners.

Not sure I follow this argument - he is only interested in why someone who wants to study would choose SDL, whereas to most adults, who might want to study for interest, it's informal learning or nothing... I guess this is still an interesting, just a _different_ question

Even we ourselves cannot access the “true” reasons for making a choice - we might reformulate an explanation after the fact. However, this explanation might be important for us in how we see what we just did, and our future actions.

Human beings, in fact, “choose” the causes for their own behavior among a vast array of possible determinants every time they decide on a future course of action, or explain “why” they did something in the past. This is supported by Bandura's (1977, p. 39) contention that “self-generated influences operate deterministically on behavior in the same way as external sources”. These “chosen causes” vary widely from one individual to the next.

The only way, therefore, to have a clue as to the reasons behind someone's motives and purposes is to ask that person directly. Furthermore, the attribution by individuals of the “causes” of their behavior may well rank, in its own right, among the most influential determinants of that very behavior (Weiner, 1986). Perhaps this is another reason the question, “Why self-directed learners choose SDL” remains unanswered: it is basically a phenomenological question, and in this sense defies empirical investigation.

The question, “Why do some people choose to pursue their learning goals in a self-directed manner?”, supposes that it is possible to explain the reasons why anyone, indeed, chooses to do anything at all in the first place.

Three possible explanations:

(Ref Skinner) - behaviorist, engage in learning project because they consciously expect to derive some benefit from their learning.

Response to needs, inner impulses and innate instincts (Freudian). Linked to “individual's propensity for self-learning”

Life field (Kurt Lewin), circumstances surrounding the events in a person's life at any given time.

Compared to three listed in Bouchard, 1996Bouchard, P. (1996). A Study of Self-Directed Professionals of High Attainment.:

• self-instructional proficiency (psychodynamic?)
• personal qualities (contingency control? - not really)
• environmental factors (systemic)

Seems to me that systemic factors and contingency control overlap - if you expect to derive some benefit, that's because of a situation that's external to you - for example that you need something for your work etc?