some empirical research. To the definition of autonomy as an ability, I added the element of
attitude, which is considered central, according to several authors, to the discussion of
autonomy. It has to be clear that, ability and attitude only refer to the role of the learner, for
she is the only agent who makes decisions. However, from my own point of view, it is also
necessary to describe the role of the teacher in an autonomy approach. It is very tempting to
think that, when defining autonomy, it is a contradiction to take into account the role of the
teacher. In theory, this argument seems to be logical. In practice, it does not work. Let me
remind the reader that I am not dealing with the concept of autonomy in a vacuum. I am
considering it in relation to a context where the teacher has an important role in formal
learning. Moreover, for the learners in SAC Oaxaca, the teacher still exists in the SAC,
although with the new name of'counsellor'.
Thus, I analysed the teacher's role in relation to the type of authority she can deploy.
The reader will remember the discussion about the authoritative vs the authoritarian teacher
and the four different situations that may potentially raise. It seemed to be logical that the
best situation resulted when the SAC counsellor∕leamer interaction is characterised by the
presence of knowledge and absence of power on the part of the counsellor. The reason is
that, in theory, this results in a balanced situation where counsellor and learners are equals
and there is an atmosphere of mutual respect. However, as I see it, a positive interaction
depends more on the convergence of roles (both participants get and give the expected) than
on the absence of power. This discussion led me to the conclusion that learner autonomy
and teacher authority were not mutually exclusive.
Within this scheme, I now want to discuss the concept of autonomy from a different
perspective. This is the relationship between autonomy and authenticity. In other words, I
will discuss how authentic it is to adopt autonomy as an educational goal. This section has
two purposes, on the one hand, it will complete the definition of autonomy with the addition
of the contextual factors that need to be taken into consideration, not just in self-directed
learning but, in any learning situation. As I see it, a definition of autonomy is complete when
it involves the learner's role (Autonomy 1) her interaction with the teacher (Autonomy 2)
and the context in which they interact (Autonomy 3). On the other hand, this discussion will
allow me to draw some connections with the definition of self-directed learning and the
corresponding cognitive model presented some paragraphs above.