Abstract:
Open, Distance and e-Learning (ODeL) has widened access to higher education by enabling flexibility and remote participation in studies. However, self-directed learning (SDL) remains uneven, particularly in contexts marked by digital inequality, platform instability, and large student cohorts. Many students entering ODeL lack the self-regulatory skills, digital literacies, and academic confidence required for autonomous learning, resulting in fragmented engagement and inconsistent academic success. This study examined how a South African ODeL university can cultivate SDL so that autonomy becomes a realistic and equitable learning experience for all students. The study is anchored in Self-Directed Learning Theory (SDLT), which conceptualises SDL as a learnable cycle of planning, enactment, and reflection, and in Transactional Distance Theory (TDT), which explains how structure, dialogue, and autonomy shape the psychological distance students experience. The study explored the practices and institutional mechanisms necessary for fostering successful SDL in ODeL. An interpretivist, qualitative-phenomenological design was adopted, involving 18 participants: a virtual focus group with final-year Bachelor of Education students (n = 8) and semi-structured interviews with academics (n = 8) and instructional designers (n = 2). Data were analysed inductively using Braun and Clarke’s (2006) thematic analysis, with trustworthiness strengthened through triangulation, member checking, an audit trail, and reflexive engagement. Findings show that SDL is a co-constructed systemic outcome, dependent on learner dispositions, scaffolded course design, peer learning communities, reliable digital ecosystems, and responsive institutional support. AI tools were found to enhance cognitive and linguistic independence when used ethically. The study makes an original contribution by developing the ALIGN SDL Framework, a holistic, context-responsive model that reframes SDL from an individual learner activity and set of skills to a relational ecosystem shaped by pedagogy, infrastructure, human support, and digital networks. It provides a practical, scalable blueprint for institutions to intentionally design and sustain SDL across the student journey. The study concludes that for SDL to work, it must be scaffolded by a supportive university environment, a suitable pedagogy, an intentional focus on SDL skills, functioning, well-maintained digital tools and networks, and the necessary human support throughout the study period. Key recommendations include implementing credit-bearing SDL and digital literacy inductions for students, embedded mentoring, analytics-supported feedback and a “mobile-first” equity-oriented curriculum design.
