Supporting Self Managed Learning - eBook 1

A Practical Guide for Parents and Other Adults

Helping young people to manage their own learning

How can we help young people take genuine ownership of their learning – while still providing the support, structure and boundaries they need?

Supporting Self Managed Learners introduces the principles behind Self Managed Learning and offers a practical framework for parents, educators, mentors and other adults supporting young people.

Written by Ian Cunningham and drawing on more than 50 years of research and practical experience, this book starts from a simple idea: young people already manage their own learning. The question is whether that learning is conscious, strategic and supported – or reactive and unexamined.

Rather than seeing the adult's role as either directing learning or stepping away completely, Ian explores how we can assist young people to make thoughtful choices about their learning and the lives they want to lead.

What’s inside

You'll explore:

• What Self Managed Learning actually means
• The role adults can play in assisting rather than controlling learning
• The Five Questions – a strategic framework for learning
• How learning can help young people prepare for a good life
• Finding the right balance between structure and autonomy
• Empowerment and boundaries
• What might be worth learning
• Different modes of learning
• The relationship between education, work and learning
• How to support Self Managed Learners in practice

Throughout the book you'll also find reflection questions, practical 'Try This' exercises and real examples from practice, helping you put the ideas into context.

Grounded in real experience

Self Managed Learning was developed in the late 1970s and refined over decades in:

• Universities and organisational settings
• Work with schools and home educating families
• A 24-year learning community for young people aged 9–16

This guide is not theoretical.

It comes from lived, tested practice - working directly with young people over many years.

Who it’s for

This guide is for:

• Parents questioning whether school is working for their child
• Families home educating or considering alternatives
• Parents of children who are disengaged, anxious or struggling
• Adults who want to support learning without controlling it
• Educators interested in a more thoughtful approach

The Self Managed Learning Series

This is Book 1 of the three-part Self Managed Learning Series.

It lays the foundations for the series, introducing the principles of Self Managed Learning and how adults can support young people to become autonomous, self-managing learners.

Continue the journey with:

Book 2 – What to Learn: exploring what might be worth learning in order to lead a fulfilling life.

Book 3 – How to Learn: exploring the many different ways that learning can happen and how to choose an appropriate approach.

Want the complete series? Buy all three books together with the Complete Self Managed Learning Series bundle and save compared with purchasing them individually.