3.2 The theory of personal constructs

If we were to state a single idea that inspired the notion of autonomy, we would probably mention the idea of free human thought. If, on the contrary, we were to think of a single theory, it might be the theory of relativity. Einstein's is a theory of the universe; if reduced to the realm of psychology, it presents itself as psychological constructivism. And if there was a single theory of learning that had a decisive influence on autonomy, it would be George Kelly's theory of personal constructs.

Not only is it a "total psychology" (Riley 1985: 157), encompassing both the human mind and the theory of knowing, but it is so much embedded in the currents of thought that characterized (not exclusively, though) the 1950s and 1960s that it seems impossible to interpret it without taking a larger perspective. As is common in such cases, a few quotations might say more than a hundred pages covered with elaborations:

Man is the measure of all things.

(Protagoras qtd. in Riley 1985: 158)

The universe is open to … interpretation. Different men construe it in different ways. Since it owes no allegiance to any one man's construction system, it is always open to reconstruction … Man comes to understand his world through an infinite series of successive approximations.

(Kelly qtd. in Little 1991: 17)

Knowledge cannot be taught but must be constructed by the learner.

(Candy qtd in Benson 2001: 35)

I have come to feel that the only learning which significantly influences behavior is self-discovered, self-appropriated learning.

(Rogers 1969: 153)

The pupil is 'schooled' to confuse teaching with learning, grade advancement with education, a diploma with competence, and fluency with the ability to say something new.

(Illich qtd. in Little 1991: 9)

Significant learning takes place when the subject matter is perceived by the student as having relevance for his own purposes.

(Rogers 1969: 158)

School knowledge, or knowledge presented and retained in abstract decontextualized form, remains someone else's knowledge and is easily forgotten. Action knowledge, or knowledge that is integrated into the learner's view of the world, becomes the learner's own knowledge and forms the basis of the learner's actions and way of living.

(Barnes paraphrased in Benson 2001: 37)

This set of quotations sketches out a vast landscape of thought. However, whether they reach into the realms of ancient Greek philosophy (Protagoras), psychology (Kelly, Rogers) or something we may call philosophy of education (Illich, Rogers, Barnes, Candy), they are fundamentally representative of one and the same mindset⁵.

Our universe is essentially a relativist one – the observer changes the observed; or, in Kelly's terms, "constructs" it. In a direct opposition to the deterministic notions of behaviorism, Kelly stated that humans, instead of being confined to a number of behavioral patterns, are free in constructing their unique interpretation of the world. They create patterns – "constructs" – to grasp the world around them; they learn when – and only when – they attempt to "fit" these patterns over their experience.

It is not difficult to understand that this mindset, once it became fully prominent, had an immense impact on the philosophy of education. If universe and knowledge do not "exist" but are "constructed" in a unique way by every human being, then one must understand learning as a highly personal project, and similarly, one shall regard teaching as largely inconsequential (Rogers goes so far as to relinquish the idea of teaching altogether).

Taking into account the traditional modes of teaching, as well as the concept of formal education, these ideas called for a massive change in the educational paradigm. Knowledge is not transferred and not transferable – it is created by the learner. One lesson taught equals to twenty or thirty lessons learned. Therefore, learners should not be "taught" but they should instead be given opportunity to discover things for themselves. The content of the learning should be determined by every individual, so that it could have relevance to his own purposes; a curriculum prescribed by the teacher or an institution is only relevant to the teacher or the institution. Competence comes from inside the individual and is thus not represented by a diploma or the grade point average. These are the ideas implied in the works of Kelly, Illich and Rogers; Barnes's distinction between "school knowledge" and "action knowledge" points in the same direction.

As we have seen with the theories of motivation, the personal construct theory is – with all its antecedents and implications – so far-reaching that it could be made synonymous with the concept of autonomy; or rather than that, autonomy should be subsumed under the hypernym of personal construct theory. However, it is relevant to our study in two different ways. First, it provides justification for the promotion of autonomy, on psychological and philosophical grounds. Secondly, it gives autonomy an essentially personal dimension. It shows us that becoming autonomous does not amount to acquiring a set of tactics or strategies. On the contrary, any independent act in the realm of learning is the act of an autonomous mind and as such gives evidence of learning becoming self-constructed, personal. In the classroom context, any move towards greater autonomy does not simply mean the gradual relinquishing of the teacher's responsibility; what is more important is the teacher's ability to create situations where the learners have the opportunity to make explicit their personal constructs, thus perceiving learning as their own, rather than somebody else's. And last but not least, a progress towards learner autonomy necessarily entails the study of the learners' inner beliefs about and attitudes towards learning.

Despite the largely philosophical nature of the personal construct theory, its implications in the classroom are fairly concrete and clearly identifiable. Little (1991: 32-35) gives a sufficiently detailed account of classroom situations where the learners' personal constructs are employed. In a previous chapter (2.6), we have also expanded on a number of activities that aim towards the same goal. Similarly, a brainstorming session, a self-discovery presentation of a grammar point or an activity where the students mingle and "trade" new words that they decided to remember from last week's reading assignment all work towards making learning more personal, self-managed, self-created.

In this section, we have given a brief account of the philosophical and psychological antecedents of the notion of learner autonomy. Also, we have justified certain ideas put forward in previous chapters (2.3, 2.5, 2.6). If, however, learners are expected to find their personal meaning in activities, determining the aims, progressions and outcomes, it may sometimes entail a drastic change in their personal constructs; that is, their interpretation of what teaching and learning look like. In studying learner autonomy, this means that a great deal of attention should be paid to examining learners' beliefs and attitudes; especially the beliefs concerning the roles of teachers and learners.