Raising Awareness of Students’ Self-Directed Learning Readiness (SDLR)

This is a sel -a chi ed e sion o an o iginal a icle. This e sion may di e om he o iginal in pagina ion and ypog aphic de ails. Au ho (s): Ti le: Yea : Ve sion: Copy igh : Righ s: Righ s u l: Please ci e he o iginal e sion: CC BY-NC-ND 4.0 h ps://c ea i ecommons.o g/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/ Raising Awa eness o S uden s’ Sel -Di ec ed Lea ning Readiness (SDLR) © SCITEPRESS - Science and Technology Publica ions, 2021 Accep ed e sion (Final d a ) Laine, Sanna; Myllymäki, Mikko; Hakala, Ismo Laine, S., Myllymäki, M., & Hakala, I. (2021). Raising Awa eness o S uden s’ Sel -Di ec ed Lea ning Readiness (SDLR). In B. Csapó, & J. Uhomoibhi (Eds.), CSEDU 2021 : P oceedings o he 13 h In e na ional Con e ence on Compu e Suppo ed Educa ion. Vol. 2 (pp. 324-331). SCITEPRESS - Science and Technology Publica ions. h ps://doi.o g/10.5220/0010403304390446 2021 Raising Awa eness o S uden s’ Sel -di ec ed Lea ning Readiness (SDLR) Sanna Laine a, Mikko Myllym¨ aki band Ismo Hakala c Uni e si y o Jy ¨ askyl¨ a, Kokkola Uni e si y Conso ium Chydenius, P.O. Box 567, FI-67701, Kokkola, Finland {sanna.m.laine, mikko. .myllymaki, ismo.hakala}@jyu. i Keywo ds: Sel -di ec ed lea ning (SDLR), SDLR scale, dis ance educa ion, online lea ning, li elong lea ning, adul lea ning, in o ma ion echnology Abs ac : This pape desc ibes he mapping o sel -di ec ed lea ning eadiness (SDLR) o adul s uden s applying o a mas e ’s deg ee p og am deli e ed en i ely as dis anced lea ning. Since SDLR is s ongly linked o bo h adul lea ning and online educa ion, de eloping o sel -di ec ed lea ning (SDL) skills should be aken in o conside a ion in ou deg ee p og am. Making u u e s uden s awa e o SDLR is he i s s age in in oducing sel -di ec ed lea ning me hods and p ac ices in lea ning en i onmen s. The easies way o do his is o ha e s uden s answe an SDLR sel -assessmen ques ionnai e and gi e hem eedback ega ding hei SDLR le el. This pape p esen s how his is ealized and p o ides he p elimina y esul s o he s udy and he applican s’ SDLR sco e dis ibu ions. The esul s indica e high SDLR among all applican s. 1 INTRODUCTION Knowles (Knowles, 1975) de ined sel -di ec ed lea ning (SDL) as “a p ocess in which an indi id- ual akes he ini ia i e, wi h o wi hou he help o o he s, in diagnosing hei lea ning needs, o mu- la ing and implemen ing app op ia e lea ning s a e- gies and e alua ing lea ning ou comes.” This is pe - haps he mos widely accep ed de ini ion o SDL. Sel -di ec ed lea ning eadiness (SDLR) comp ises pe sonali y cha ac e is ics ha de ine an indi idual’s deg ee o sel -managemen , desi e o lea n, and sel -con ol (Fishe e al., 2001). We li e in a apidly changing socie y, and o main ain p o essional skills, sel -di ec ed li elong lea ning is a necessi y (Guglielmino, 2013). As Knowles (Knowles, 1975) exp essed, “We mus hink o lea ning as being he same as li ing.” He a gued ha lea ne s wi h ini ia i e lea n mo e and be e han passi e “ eac i e” lea n- e s. Sel -di ec ed lea ne s ha e g ea e mo i a ion and end o e ain and make use o wha hey lea n. Knowles conside ed SDL o be pa o he na u al p o- cess o human psychological de elopmen . Adap ing he de ini ion by Knowles, Guglielmino and Guglielmino (Guglielmino and Guglielmino, 2001) de ined SDL as “a p ocess in which he lea ne is esponsible o iden i ying wha is o be lea ned, ah ps://o cid.o g/0000-0001-7165-9687 bh ps://o cid.o g/0000-0002-0263-0917 ch ps://o cid.o g/0000-0002-0048-3212 when i is o be lea ned and how i is o be lea ned. The lea ne is also esponsible o e alua ing no only i he lea ning occu s bu i i is ele an o he ob- jec i e.” When de eloping he sel -di ec ed lea ning eadiness scale (SDLRS) using he Delphi echnique, Guglielmino (Guglielmino, 1978) connec ed a highly sel -di ec ed lea ne wi h quali ies like ini ia i e, in- dependence, pe sis ence, sel -discipline, cu iosi y, e- sponsibili y, sel -con idence, s ong desi e o lea n- ing, goal-o ien a ion, and o ganizing skills. Since SDL may also b ing abou many abili- ies suppo ing s udying, such as inc eased e en ion, g ea e in e es in con inued lea ning, g ea e in e - es in he subjec , mo e posi i e a i udes owa d he ins uc o , and enhanced sel -concep (B ocke and Hiems a, 1991), he bene i s o SDL a e ha d o deny. Fo una ely, he e is e idence ha SDLR can be de- eloped. Knowing hei own SDLR le els may a ouse s uden s’ in e es in enhancing hei SDL skills. Thus, his esea ch will p omo e he g ow h o s uden s’ awa eness o SDLR. In addi ion, he dis ibu ion o s uden s’ SDLRS sco es may con ince educa ion o - ganize s and lec u e s o ake SDLR heo y in o ac- coun when a anging and planning ins uc ion. In his p elimina y s age o he s udy, we iden i- ied a way o ealize SDLR e alua ion in an online en i onmen . We also examined he SDLRS sco e dis ibu ions o i s -yea s uden s and s uden appli- can s. The u u e goal is o obse e possible changes in adul s uden s’ SDLR le els in a mas e ’s p og am deli e ed as dis ance lea ning and o ind a means o de eloping SDL skills in online en i onmen s. In he long un, collec ing applican s’ SDLRS sco es may also enable he de ec ion o whe he hei SDLR le - els will a ec hei abili y o be accep ed in o he p o- g am and commi o i . The SDLR su ey by Fishe , King, and Tague (Fishe e al., 2001) was in eg a ed in o he i ual lea ning en i onmen . S uden s we e gi en ma e ials ha explained he pu pose o he su - ey and p o ided in o ma ion on how SDLR could be de eloped in connec ion wi h he educa ion p og am. Responding o he su ey cons i u ed pa o he i s compulso y cou se o new s uden s, which add esses academic s udy p ac ices and skills. The pape is o ganized as ollows: Sec ion 2 in- oduces SDL in mo e de ail and connec s i o ou s uden s. Sec ion 3 discusses he ela ed wo k. Sec- ion 4 explains how he SDLR scale is ealized in ou lea ning pla o m. The esul s and hei meaning a e discussed in sec ion 5. Sec ion 6 concludes he pape . 2 SELF-DIRECTED LEARNING The in oduc ion al eady p o ided some de ini- ions o SDL. In his sec ion, SDL is explo ed h ough SDL models. In addi ion, he ela ionship be- ween SDL and online/dis ance lea ning and adul ed- uca ion, as well as he ways o measu e SDLR le els, will be conside ed. 2.1 Sel -di ec ed lea ning models Ga ison’s (Ga ison, 1997) model includes h ee o e lapping SDLR dimensions: mo i a ion, sel - managemen , and sel -moni o ing. Ga ison de ines sel -di ec ed lea ning as “an app oach whe e lea n- e s a e mo i a ed o assume pe sonal esponsibil- i y and collabo a i e con ol o he cogni i e (sel - moni o ing) and con ex ual (sel -managemen ) p o- cesses in cons uc ing and con i ming a meaning- ul and wo hwhile lea ning ou come.” Mo i a ion is a key ac o in ini ia ing and main aining lea ning p ocesses. Ga ison classi ies mo i a ion in o wo e ms: en e ing mo i a ion and ask mo i a ion. “En- e ing mo i a ion es ablishes commi men o a pa - icula goal and he in en o ac . Task mo i a ion is he endency o ocus on and pe sis in lea n- ing ac i i ies and goals” (Ga ison, 1997). Rega d- ing Ga ison’s h ee o e -lapping dimensions, sel - managemen ocuses on ex e nal ac i i ies associa ed wi h he lea ning p ocess and conside s unc ions o achie ing lea ning goals and lea ning esou ce man- agemen . Sel -moni o ing e e s o he “ esponsibil- i y o cons uc meaning.” This includes de eloping new knowledge and econciling new in o ma ion wi h p e ious knowledge. Sel -moni o ing ensu es ha he lea ning goals a e being me . B ocke and Hiems a (B ocke and Hiems a, 1991) in oduced he Pe sonal Responsibili y O i- en a ion (PRO) model. I sepa a es SDL in o wo dimensions: ins uc ional ansac ion cha ac e is- ic ( eaching-lea ning p ocess) and a lea ne ‘s pe - sonal cha ac e is ics. The dimensions a e guided by pe sonal esponsibili y, which wo ks as a s a - ing poin and is in luenced by social con ex . To cla i y some con usion, he model was a oused du - ing yea s and was upda ed and econ igu ed in o he Pe son-P ocess-Con ex (PPC) Model (Hiems a and B ocke , 2012)in o de o disengage hemsel es om he poli ical one ha he e m “pe sonal esponsibil- i y” may ha e ob ained. Pe son (o a lea ne ’s pe - sonal cha ac e is ics in he PRO model) e e s o one’s cha ac e is ics, such as hei “c ea i i y, c i ical e- lec ion, en husiasm, li e expe ience, li e sa is ac ion, mo i a ion, p e ious educa ion, esilience, and sel - concep ”. P ocess (o ins uc ional ansac ion cha - ac e is ic in he PRO model) e e s o one’s “ acili a- ion, lea ning skills, lea ning s yles, planning, o ga- nizing, and e alua ing abili ies, eaching s yles, and echnological skills.” Adding he Con ex elemen o he model sepa a es he model om many o he SDL de ini ions. Con ex akes in o accoun “ he en i- onmen al and sociopoli ical clima e, such as cul u e, powe , lea ning en i onmen , inances, gende , lea n- ing clima e, o ganiza ional policies, poli ical milieu, ace, and sexual o ien a ion”. Lea ning ac i i ies can- no be sepa a ed om he social con ex in which hey occu (B ocke and Hiems a, 1991). 2.2 SDL in he online and adul lea ning con ex As an educa o , i is impo an o unde s and how on- line lea ning a ec s SDLR and how SDL should be aken in o accoun when a anging educa ion o adul s uden s, mos o whom al eady ha e a leas one p e- ious deg ee and se e al yea s o wo k expe ience. The in e es in SDL in ela ion o dis ance lea ning eme ged om he s uc u al cons ain s o dis ance educa ion and he independence ha dis ance lea n- e s ha e (Ga ison, 2003). Al eady in he 80s, Moo e (Moo e, 1986) s udied he implica ions o SDL o dis ance educa ion and ecommended ha s a be ained o emphasize SDL in hei cou ses and p epa e ma e ial o be deli e ed in a pe sonalized way based on s uden s’ needs and in e es s. SDLR sha es mul- iple ea u es wi h he equi emen s o dis ance lea n- ing. Song and Hill (Song and Hill, 2007) s udied he ole o SDL in online lea ning con ex s. They poin ed ou ha ini ial SDL models we e de eloped when ace- o- ace ins uc ion was he p edominan mode o highe educa ion. Thus, hey o med a concep ual model o unde s and SDL in an online con ex . In he model, he “lea ning con ex ” indica es he impac o en i onmen al ac o s on SDL. This lea ning con ex includes “design” elemen s, like esou ces, s uc u e, and na u e o he lea ning asks, and “suppo ” ele- men s, which e e o he ins uc o ’s eedback and pee collabo a ion. Song and Hill (Song and Hill, 2007) b ough ou he oppo uni ies and challenges ha an online con ex in oduces. They deduced ha online lea ning is closely associa ed wi h SDL. To succeed in online lea ning, many SDL- ela ed skills a e needed, such as planning one’s lea ning pace, moni o ing lea ning comp ehension, and explo ing and using a ious lea ning esou ces e ec i ely. S u- den s need o be highly mo i a ed as he online con- ex may p o ide mo e oppo uni ies o p oc as ina e s udies, as online classes o en do no p o ide s ic schedules. In addi ion, s uden s a e mo e esponsible o moni o ing hei own lea ning in online en i on- men s. Ba ak e al. (Ba ak e al., 2016) sugges ed ha online s uden s we e mo e awa e o mas e y lea n- ing and in o ma ion p ocessing s a egies han hei on-campus pee s. In addi ion, online s uden s indi- ca ed be e planning, con ol, and e alua ion skills o hei lea ning p ocess. In o ma ion esou ce man- agemen is an impo an pa o SDL skills. Tang and Tseng (Tang and Tseng, 2013) disco e ed ha dis- ance lea ne s who ha e highe sel -e icacy o in o - ma ion seeking and p o iciency in in o ma ion manip- ula ion exhibi ed highe sel -e icacy o online lea n- ing. Loizzo e al. (Loizzo e al., 2017) s udied lea n- e s’ mo i a ions o en olling in a massi e open on- line cou se (MOOC), hei pe cep ions o success and comple ion, and he ba ie s encoun e ed while ying o comple e he MOOC om an SDL pe spec i e. In Loizzo e al.’s s udy, SDL heo y was u ilized o be e unde s and how adul lea ne s expe ience MOOCs. Acco ding o hei su ey esponses, he s uden s had SDL- ela ed ea u es, like an awa eness o hei lea n- ing pu poses, p ocesses, and goals wi hin he MOOC cou se. Howe e , Loizzo e al. (Loizzo e al., 2017) s a ed ha MOOC cou ses o en do no p o ide he oppo uni y o lea ne s o assess hei own p og ess in ela ion o hei pe sonal goals. Rashid and Asgha (Rashid and Asgha , 2016) s udied he ela ionship be ween echnology use and academic pe o mance, s uden engagemen , and sel - di ec ed lea ning. Technology use was assessed wi h a ”media and echnology usage and a i udes” scale. Only he ques ions measu ing media and echnology usage, such as in e ne , social media, sma phone, and media sha ing usage, we e included in he e- sea ch. They ound ha he use o echnology has a di ec ly posi i e ela ionship wi h sel -di ec ed lea n- ing. The same s udy also showed a posi i e co ela- ion be ween SDL and s uden engagemen . The online en i onmen also c ea es possibili ies o enhance SDL skills. Kim e al. (Kim e al., 2014) de eloped a sel -di ec ed lea ning sys em o guide s uden s o sel -manage hei own lea ning p ocesses. The sys em enabled s uden s o cus omize con en by se ing speci ic lea ning goals by e lec ing on hei lea ning expe iences, sel -moni o ing ac i i ies and pe o mances, and collabo a ion wi h o he s uden s. The sys em was ound o imp o e s uden s’ o e all compe ency sco es in being sel -di ec i e by p ac ic- ing and ein o cing hei SDL abili ies. SDLR is o en ela ed o li elong lea ning, and Knowles’ wo k has had a g ea impac on his eal- iza ion. In addi ion o SDL, Knowles was a special- is o and agogy ( he s udy o adul lea ning). He de ined he assump ions abou he cha ac e is ics o lea ne s by saying ha “as indi iduals ma u e, hei sel -concep mo es om one o being a dependen pe sonali y owa d being a sel -di ec ed human be- ing” (Knowles, 1980). Howe e , age may no di ec ly p edic SDLR le els. Fo example, Heo and Han (Heo and Han, 2018) ound no co ela ion be ween age and SDLR wi hin hei adul online college s uden . Thus, he link be ween adul hood and SDLR is based mo e on “ma u i y” han age. Knowles also a gued ha adul s ha e “a deep psychological need o be gene - ally sel -di ec ing, al hough hey may be dependen in pa icula empo a y si ua ions” (Knowles, 1980). This means ha eache -cen e ed educa ion may no sa is y adul s uden s. Applying SDL in o mal educa ion is a challeng- ing ask. A s ic cu iculum may hinde he a- cili a ion o SDL, and applying SDL may equi e ex a e o om eache s. Acco ding Guglielmino (Guglielmino, 2013), possible easons o no adop - ing SDL a e he endency o each as one was augh , he ease o assigning a g ade based p ima ily on quan- i a i e e alua ion, school and eache a ings based on es ing, inc easing class sizes ha make i mo e di icul o use au hen ic assessmen me hods, and, o highe educa ion acul y, a lack o ins uc ion in eaching s a egies. 2.3 SDLR scales The mos widely used SDLR assessmen ool is Guglielmino’s (Guglielmino, 1978) SDLRS. This is a sel - epo ques ionnai e ha consis s o 58 Like - ype i ems d awn up wi h he help o expe s using he Delphi echnique. The expe g oup consis ed o 14 au ho i ies in he a ea o SDL. Among he ex- pe s we e Malcolm Knowles and Allen Tough, bo h majo con ibu o s in he ield o adul educa ion. Guglielmino’s model de ined eigh SDL componen s: openness o lea ning oppo uni ies, sel -concep as an e ec i e lea ne , ini ia i e and independence in lea n- ing, in o med accep ance o esponsibili y o one’s own lea ning, lo e o lea ning, c ea i i y, posi i e o i- en a ion o he u u e, and abili y o use basic s udy skills, and p oblem-sol ing skills. Guglielmino’s SDLRS only measu es he deg ee o which a pe son pe cei es hemsel es as e lec ing he skills and a i udes ela ed o SDLR. Howe e , like B ocke and Hiems a (B ocke and Hiems a, 1991) poin ou , he e is e idence ha SDLRS sco es co ela e wi h ac ual beha io . This co ela ion was ound by Hassan (Hassan, 1981) when she examined he connec ion o SDLRS sco es wi h he numbe o lea ning p ojec s. The lea ning p ojec s used in he e- sea ch we e planned o ul ill he de ini ion o Tough’s (Tough, 1979) de ini ion. In his esea ch Fishe ’s SDLRS is used (Fishe and King, 2010). Fishe ’s scale was de eloped o co ec issues ega ding he alidi y and eliabili y o Guglielmino’s scale and o make i a ailable a no cos . O iginally, i was planned o nu sing s uden s, bu du ing he p incipal componen analysis o he scale, all ques ions ela ing o nu sing we e emo ed. The emaining i ems we e compa a i ely gene ally applicable. Fishe ’s SDLRS has h ee subscales: de- si e o lea ning, sel -managemen , and sel -con ol. Fishe e al. (Fishe e al., 2001) did no de ine hese subscales in g ea de ail, bu hey esul ed om an in e -co ela ion analysis be ween Like - ype i ems. The desi e o lea ning (DL) subscale includes ques- ions ela ing o one’s mo i a ion and a i udes o- wa d s udying. The sel -managemen (SM) subscale includes ques ions associa ed wi h a pe son’s de el- opmen o app op ia e ex e nal condi ions and skills o he lea ning p ocess, such as ime managemen and esou ce handling. The sel -con ol (SC) sub- scale includes ques ions abou a pe son’s abili y o se goals and e alua e hei own lea ning. The sub- scales ha e clea poin s o o e lap wi h Ga ison’s (Ga ison, 1997) SDLR dimensions: mo i a ion, sel - managemen , and sel -moni o ing. Fishe ’s SDLRS includes 40 5-poin Like - ype i ems: 13 i ems o sel -managemen , 12 o desi e o lea ning, and 15 o sel -con ol. The possible o- al sco es can ange be ween 40 and 200. When he SDLRS was o iginally es ed wi h a sample o 201 s uden s en olling o a Bachelo o Nu sing p og am a he Uni e si y o Sydney, Aus alia, he o al sco es we e no mally dis ibu ed wi h a mean o 150.55 (me- dian 150). Thus, Fishe e al. (Fishe e al., 2001) used a o al sco e o g ea e han 150 o indica e SDLR. La e , Fishe and King (Fishe and King, 2010) e- e alua ed he ac o s uc u e o he SDLR subscales, and ound ha he da a collec ed om 227 i s -yea unde g adua e nu sing s uden s did no i he speci- ied ac o model un il 11 i ems we e emo ed; how- e e , hey ecommended ha all 40 i ems should be used un il he esul s could be con i med wi h a la ge sample. 3 RELATED WORK Mos o he s uden s who pa icipa ed in his e- sea ch had an enginee ing backg ound be o e ap- plying o he Ma hema ical In o ma ion Technology mas e ’s deg ee p og am. Fishe ’s scale was used, when S ewa (S ewa , 2007) mapped inal yea en- ginee ing s uden s’ SDLRS sco es as a pa o he p ocess o in eg a e p ojec -based lea ning, as a ma- jo componen o he ins i u ion’s lea ning and each- ing op ions. Based on he da a ga he ed, he a e - age o al sco e o he 26 s uden s was 158.8. Sumue (Sumue , 2018) collec ed SDLRS sco es o 153 un- de g adua e s uden s in he School o Educa ion a a public uni e si y in Tu key, iden i ying he ex en o which hei SDLR a ec ed hei echnology SDL (i.e. hei use o in e ne and communica ion echnology (ICT) o lea ning expe iences ha enable indi iduals o ake con ol o planning, implemen ing, and e al- ua ing hei own lea ning). The a e age i em sco e was 3.97 (SD = 0.44), making he o al mean sco e also 158.8. The s udy also ound a medium, posi i e, signi ican co ela ion be ween SDLR and SDL wi h echnology. Al hough he SDLR i ems in Fishe ’s scale do no include any ac o s speci ically ela ing o nu sing, i is s ill mainly used o e alua e heal h ca e s uden s. In ac , nu sing s uden s ha e been he mos ex en- si ely s udied g oup o SDLR long be o e Fishe ’s scale was de eloped (B ocke and Hiems a, 1991). The e o e, we also compa ed ou s uden s o medi- cal s uden s. Ab aham e al. (Ab aham e al., 2011) explo ed he SDLR o i s -yea unde g adua e med- ical s uden s in physiology and sea ched o possible co ela ions wi h academic pe o mance. The a e - age o al sco e o he s uden s was 151.4, and 60.2% o s uden s had a sco e g ea e han 150. The highes mean i em sco e was o ques ions measu ing desi e o lea ning (3.91), ollowed by sel -con ol (3.87), and hen sel -managemen (3.44). Based on hei academic pe o mance du ing he i s -yea p og am, s uden s we e di ided in o high achie e s (n = 10), medium achie e s (n = 41), and low achie e s (n = 79). High achie e s had he highes sco e o all h ee SDLR subscales, and s a is ical signi icance was ound o sel -con ol. Deyo e al. (Deyo e al., 2011) s udied he e ec o SDLR and academic pe o mance on SDL ac i i ies and he esou ces used o p epa e o an abili ies’ lab- o a o y cou se. The mean SDLRS sco e was 148.6 o 153 uni e si y s uden s pa icipa ing in a pha macy cou se. The median was 149, and 68 s uden s (44%) sco ed o e 150. Simila ly, A wa (A wa, 2018) col- lec ed SDLRS sco es o second-yea unde g adua e medical s uden s and examined he ela ionship be- ween hei sco es and he s uden s’ g ade poin a - e ages (GPAs) and gende . The mean SDLRS sco e o he 239 s uden s was 159.25. A wa ound a s a is- ically signi ican , posi i e co ela ion be ween GPA and SDLR. Fu he mo e, he SDLRS sco es we e also ound o be signi ican ly highe o emales. Mo e enginee ing s uden s’ SDLR esul s can be ound om s udies using Guglielmino’s SDLR scale. The sco es o Guglielmino’s SDLRS a ies be ween 58 and 290, wi h alues be ween 202 and 226 indi- ca ing an a e age le el o SDLR (Guglielmino and Guglielmino, 2013). Li zinge e al. (Li zinge e al., 2005) es ed unde g adua e enginee ing s uden s us- ing Guglielmino’s SDLRS. They ound ha , o i s - yea s uden s, he mean sco e was 215 (n = 80), which ell in o he a e age ca ego y. Guglielmino’s SDLRs was also applied by Jius o e al.’s (Jius o and DiB- iasio, 2006) s udy, whe ein he e ec s o an expe- ien ial academic enginee ing p og am ha empha- sized li elong lea ning and SDL skills we e examined. The sco es we e collec ed be o e and a e a 14-week p ojec . The p ojec expe ience had a modes posi i e e ec on s uden s’ SDLRS sco es, as he mean sco e inc eased om 219.4 o 222.7, bu e en ually ell in o he a e age ca ego y. 4 RESEARCH OBJECTIVES AND DATA COLLECTION The mas e ’s deg ee s uden s in Ma hema ical In- o ma ion Technology a Kokkola Uni e si y Conso - ium Chydenius a e mainly wo king adul s who s udy alongside hei wo k. Fo his eason, hei educa- ion has been s ongly dis ance-lea ning-based wi h he use o educa ional echnologies (Hakala and Myl- lym¨ aki, 2016). Thus, he s uden s’ s udies can be ai- lo ed o hei pe sonal schedules and li e si ua ions. In such an educa ional en i onmen , SDL is o g ea impo ance o he p og ess o lea ning. The e o e, i is meaning ul o examine he s uden s’ SDLR le - els. I may e en be easonable o expec ha s uden s who g a i a e owa ds dis ance educa ion ha e highe SDLR sco es. The pu pose o his esea ch pape is o iden i y how we ha e implemen ed SDLR e alua ion in an on- line en i onmen . In his esea ch, we also examine he SDLRS sco e dis ibu ions o s uden applican s and compa e he esul s wi h o he simila su eys. I is hoped ha esea ch ela ed o sel -di ec ion will in- c ease s uden s’ awa eness o hei own SDLR since, when hey become awa e o i , hey can y o de elop i . The b oade objec i e o u u e esea ch ela ed o sel -di ec ion is o examine how SDL skills could be de eloped in an online en i onmen and how o de e mine whe he he e will be any changes in he SDLR o he mas e ’s deg ee s uden s du ing hei s udies. One aim o u u e esea ch is o disco e whe he he e a e any di e ences in SDLR be ween s uden s admi ed o he deg ee p og am and hose no selec ed. 4.1 Implemen a ion o an SDLR ques ionnai e S uden s esponded o he Fishe ’s SDLR su ey a he beginning hei s udies in he Ma hema ical In- o ma ion Technology p og am. The su ey will be o e ed hem again du ing g adua ion. The SDLRS sco es a e collec ed du ing applica ion p ocess. The en ollmen p ocess includes an in oduc o y cou se ha applican s mus comple e o be admi ed. The unc ion o he in oduc o y cou se is o gi e s u- den s some idea o he equi emen s o s udying in his educa ion p og am in e ms o combining hei s udy habi s wi h hei li e si ua ions and balancing he cou se wo kload. In he sp ing o 2020, he e we e wo in oduc o y cou ses: Communica ion P o ocols and In oduc ion o Embedded Sys ems. The SDLR su ey was one o he exe cises o he cou ses. The su ey was comple ed a he beginning o he in oduc o y cou se; he e o e, i was also answe ed by s uden s who, o a ious easons, d opped ou o he cou se and we e no admi ed o he deg ee p o- g am. When he su ey was i s in oduced, i was also sen o i s yea s uden s. The second ime he s uden s will comple e he SDLR su ey is when hey a end a mas e ’s hesis semina in he inal s ages o hei s udies. The su ey was deli e ed as pa o a s uden ’s p o ile in he elec onic sys em used o he deg ee p og am. S uden s use he same sys em o wa ch, o example, ideo lea ning ma e ial; hence, i is con- s an ly in ac i e use by he s uden s. O he su eys, such as a lea ning s yle su ey, ha e also been in- eg a ed in o his sys em in he pas (Hakala e al., 2016). The sys em au oma ically iden i ies he e- sponding s uden and s o es he s uden ’s esponses wi h he app op ia e iden i ica ion in o ma ion in a da abase. Fo his s udy, he scale was ansla ed in o Finnish and ou i ems we e nega i ely ph ased. The i ems we e o e ed in i e, eigh -i em clus e s, and mixed in such a way ha each clus e included wo o h ee i ems o each dimension. 4.2 Feedback gi en o s uden s A e comple ing he SDLR su ey, he s uden s we e shown a esul s page whe e hey saw hei own e- sul s and he a e age o he esul s o all s uden s in he deg ee p og am. I a g adua ing s uden has comple ed he su ey also a he beginning o s ud- ies, he esul s will be shown o bo h i s and la - es se s o answe s. Along wi h hei own esul s, he s uden s we e gi en some eedback and in o ma ion abou he SDLR in gene al. In hei SDLRS, Fishe e al. (Fishe e al., 2001) concen a ed on de eloping a s a is ically alid and in e nally consis en e alua ion ool bu did no conside how o gi e eedback o he s uden s. Ou solu ion was o p o ide, alongside he SDLRS sco e, a eely ansla ed e sion o in e p e- a ions o Guglielmino’s SDLRS (Guglielmino and Guglielmino, 2013) sco es. The SDLRS sco e esul is ei he high, a e age, o low, indica ing he p e e ed a io o sel -di ec ed and s uc u ed lea ning. In addi ion, he de ini ion and bene i s o SDLR, as well as some me hods o enhance i , we e sum- ma ized. Fo s uden s who wan ed o amilia ize hemsel es wi h he subjec in mo e de ail, selec ed a icles we e linked o he esul s si e. Fo exam- ple, Guglielminos’ pape en i led “Becoming a mo e sel -di ec ed lea ne ” (Guglielmino and Guglielmino, 2004) p o ides di ec guidance o lea ne s. 5 RESULTS AND DISCUSSION A his i s s age o esea ch, 34 applican s com- ple ed he SDLR ques ionnai e, 8 women and 26 men. The mean o he sco es was 165.0, wi h a ange o 65. The women’s a e age sco e was sligh ly highe han he men’s (167.3 s. 164.3), bu he di e ence was no s a is ically signi ican wi h his da a. Twen y-eigh s uden s (82%) sco ed o e 150 ( he SDLR bound- a y). C onbach’s alpha coe icien s o sel -con ol, sel -managemen , and desi e o lea ning we e 0.83, 0.88, and 0.64, espec i ely, indica ing he scales’ good in e nal consis ency and eliabili y. The dis i- bu ion o sco es is depic ed as a boxplo in Fig. 1. The median was 168, and he uppe and lowe qua - iles we e 157.0 and 176.3, espec i ely. Figu e 1: The dis ibu ion o s uden s’ SDLRS sco es. (The ou lie in he boxplo is an obse a ion ha is u he han 1.5 imes he wid h o he box om he lowe qua ile.) Since he SDLRS includes an une en numbe o i ems o each subscale, he compa ison o dimen- sions explo ed s uden s’ a e age i em sco es o each dimension. The a e age o he Like scale i ems mea- su ing sel -con ol, sel -managemen , and desi e o lea ning we e 4.2, 3.9, and 4.3, espec i ely (Fig. 2). A high desi e o lea n is a logical esul among ou s uden s, and a desi e o lea n in o ms us o mo i a- ion; adul s uden s who chose o s udy while wo king a e expec ed o possess his ai . Compa ed o ela ed s udies (see Table 1), he ap- plican s in his s udy we e highly sel -di ec ed, while he o de o dimension means (desi e o lea ning Figu e 2: The boxplo o s uden s’ mean SDLRS i em sco es in o al, and o each SDLR dimension: sel -con ol (SC), sel -managemen (SM), and desi e o lea ning (DL). highes and sel -managemen lowes ) was common in many s udies. The high SDLR le els o ou s u- den s may ha e isen om hei g ea e ma u i y, ol- lowed by age, p e ious deg ees and wo k expe ience, and amily expe iences. We can also assume ha ap- plican s ha e a desi e o pa icipa e in an educa ion p og am conduc ed en i ely h ough dis ance lea ning and ound his s udying p ac ice sui able o hem- sel es. Since SDL has a g ea ole in dis ance lea n- ing (Song and Hill, 2007), i may well be ha his educa ion p og am a ac s mo e sel -di ec ed people. In addi ion, dis ance lea ning and ICT p og ams na u- ally in ol e he use o echnology, which was ound o ha e a posi i e ela ionship wi h SDL (Rashid and Asgha , 2016). F om an educa ion o ganize pe spec- i e, he esul s a e, i no expec ed, a leas e y pos- i i e. Table 1: Means o he SDLRS sco es p esen ed in he e- la ed wo k o his esea ch. Sou ce N Mean o he SDLRS sco es This esea ch 34 165.0 (A wa, 2018) 239 159.25 (S ewa , 2007) 26 158.8 (Sumue , 2018) 153 158.8 (Ab aham e al., 2011) 130 151.4 (Deyo e al., 2011) 153 148.6 Due o he high SDLRS sco es, we can expec he applican s o ha e high expec a ions o he p og am ega ding hei abili y o apply SDLR o hei s ud- ies. In ou p og am, s uden s ha e some con ol o e he pace o lea ning a which hey p oceed. The ac ha all educa ion is deli e ed online gi es s uden s he eedom and esponsibili y o se hei own weekly schedules. Some cou ses allow o ally independen lea ning while o he s es ablish loose deadlines o en- cou age s uden s o p oceed a he pace o li e each- ing, while gi ing enough leeway o accommoda e pe - sonal s udy p e e ences. Al hough he lexibili y o he p og am was de eloped o alle ia e adul s uden s’ ime managemen challenges, i can also os e SDLR. To employ adul s uden s’ p io knowledge and se e hei in e es s, s uden s a e gi en mo e con ol o e cou se con en . G ea e emphasis on he deli e y o cou ses is placed on la ge exe cises, such as essays, g oup wo k, coding p ojec s, o labo a o y assign- men s, which allows s uden s o eely choose he a - ge o applica ion. E o s a e also made o enable s uden s o sha e he in o ma ion hey possess wi h each o he , using pee e iews, s uden p esen a ions, g oup wo k, and collabo a ion ools on he lea ning pla o m. To de elop ou educa ion p og am in he u u e, we will add some elemen s o he online en i- onmen ha ein o ce s uden s’ SDL skills. P o en me hods can be ound om he wo k o Kim e al. (Kim e al., 2014). 6 CONCLUSION Sel -di ec ion plays an emphasized ole in online lea ning en i onmen s. The cu en global si ua ion o he pandemic has c ea ed an e en g ea e need o ans e in o ma ion online. Fo his eason, esea ch ela ed o sel -di ec ion is e y opical. This s udy examined s uden applican s’ SDLRS sco e mapping in he Ma hema ical In o ma ion Technology mas- e ’s deg ee p og am a Kokkola Uni e si y Conso - ium Chydenius and depic ed he in eg a ion o he SDLR scale in o a lea ning managemen sys em. Dis- ance lea ning and adul educa ion a e undamen al el- emen s o he deg ee p og am, and SDL is s ongly connec ed o bo h. Thus, SDL should no be dis- missed while o ganizing educa ion. This p elimina y esea ch showed ha applican s answe ed he SDLR ques ionnai e eadily and ha hei sco es we e el- a i ely high, indica ing ha hey we e al eady sel - di ec ed a he beginning o he educa ion p og am. This makes educa ion o ganize s esponsible o c e- a ing a meaning ul lea ning en i onmen ha ul ills s uden s’ expec a ions. In he u u e, mo e s uden s will be included in he s udy o ensu e he high SDLR o p og am applican s. I some applican s ail o be admi ed o decide o discon inue hei s udies, hei SDLRS sco es will be compa ed o admi ed s uden s’ esul s. Simila ly, he change in SDLRS esul s will be u he moni o ed, and sco es can e en be com- pa ed wi h s udy pe o mance. A compa ison will also be made be ween adul s uden s in di e en dis- ciplines in ou ins i u ion, and be ween younge , gen- e al uppe seconda y school, s uden s. ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS The esea ch o his pape was inancially suppo ed by he Eu opean Social Fund, g an no. S21124, wi h- ou which he p esen s udy could no ha e been com- ple ed. The au ho s wish o hank he Cen al Finland Cen e o Economic De elopmen , T anspo and he En i onmen o hei help. REFERENCES Ab aham, R. R., Fishe , M., Kama h, A., Izza i, T. 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