INTEGRATING HEUTAGOGY IN DISTANCE EDUCATION: FOSTERING LEARNER AUTONOMY

Abstract

The teaching approaches of heutagogy focus on self-determined learning and life-long learning. Heutagogy aims on a student-centric education system, that focuses on the development of autonomy among learners. The field of heutagogy is rapidly expanding in the field of education. One of the major aspects of education is distance education. Distance education is one of the important agencies of non-formal education, which is emphasized in several education policies including NEP 2020. The heutagogical approach plays a significant role in the process of distance education. This paper aims to explore the significant role of heutagogy in distance learning and its relevance. Technology is one of the key instruments of the 21st century. How technology-based heutagogy impacts distance learning is also discussed. Lastly, the challenges of implementation of heutagogy in distance education and its future direction are explored briefly. If we can successfully implement heutagogy in distance learning, then distance education will find its true meaning.