Self-Educational Activities of Teachers in Poland. An Exploratory Diagnosis of Forms, Motives, and Determinants Based on a Questionnaire Survey
Abstract
RESEARCH OBJECTIVE: The aim of this article is to diagnose the level, forms, determinants, and motivations of teachers’ self-educational activities in Poland in the context of dynamic social and educational changes and the growing importance of self-directed learning in professional development.
THE RESEARCH PROBLEM AND METHODS: The study addressed the question of the level and nature of self-educational activities and their variation according to selected demographic and environmental characteristics. A diagnostic survey method (CAWI) was employed. The sample consisted of 570 teachers. Data were collected using the authors’ Self-Educational Activities Inventory.
THE PROCESS OF ARGUMENTATION: The theoretical section discusses the concept of self-directed learning in relation to teachers’ professional work. Subsequently, the results of analyses concerning the intensity of formal and informal activities, motivations for self-education, and their determinants are presented.
RESEARCH RESULTS: The findings indicate a moderately high level of self-educational activity, with a clear predominance of informal forms of learning. Cognitive and developmental motives play a dominant role. Self-educational activity is differentiated by factors such as age, gender, and school location.
CONCLUSIONS, RECOMMENDATIONS, AND APPLICABLE VALUE OF RESEARCH: Self-education performs an important adaptive and reflective function in teachers’ professional practice.
References
Eroğlu, M. i Özbek, R. (2023). Examining teachers’ participation in professional development in terms of their demographic characteristics. Excellence in Education Journal, 12(1), 55–81.
Galwas, B. (2019). O roli edukacji w programowaniu przyszłości świata. W: B. Galwas, P. Kozłowski i K. Prandecki (red.), Czy świat należy urządzić inaczej. Schyłek i początek (s. 246–264). Komitet Prognoz „Polska 2000 Plus” przy Prezydium PAN.
Giebułtowska, J. (2017). Rozwój zawodowy nauczycieli w modelu professional learning community. Labor et Education, 5, 58–71. https://doi.org/10.4467/25439561LE.17.003.7978
Goller, M. i Harteis, C. (2017). Human agency at work: Towards a clarification and operationalisation of the concept. W: M. Goller I S. Paloniemi (red.), Agency at work: An agentic perspective on professional learning and development (s. 85–103). Springer International Publishing.
Gołębniak, B.D. (2021). Ekspansja uczenia się? Co z nauczaniem? W stronę społeczno-kulturowych podstaw edukacji nauczycieli. Wydawnictwo Naukowe Dolnośląskiej Szkoły Wyższej.
IBE. (2025). Nauczycielki i nauczyciele o pracy w zawodzie. Wyniki Międzynarodowego badania nauczania i uczenia się TALIS 2024. https://ibe.edu.pl/files/BIBLIOTEKA/TALIS/talis-2024.pdf
Jurgiel-Aleksander, A. (2022). Biograficzne doświadczanie bycia nauczycielem jako istota kształtowania praktyk całożyciowego uczenia się. Adult Education Discourses, 23, 81–95.
Kędzierska, H. (2012). Kariery zawodowe nauczycieli: konteksty – wzory – pola dyskursu. Wydawnictwo Adam Marszałek. Toruń.
Knowles, M.S. (1975). Self-directed learning: A guide for learners and teachers. Chicago Association Press.
Kwiatkowska, H. (2005). Tożsamość nauczycieli. Między anomią a autonomią. Gdańskie Wydawnictwo Psychologiczne.
Long, H.B. (1989). Self-directed learning: Merging theory and practice. W: H.B. Long (red.), Self-directed learning: Merging theory and practice (s. 5–12). Oklahoma Research Center for Continuing Professional and Higher Education, University of Oklahoma.
Lopes, J.B. i Cunha, A. (2017). Self-directed professional development to improve effective teaching: Key points for a model. Teaching and Teacher Education, 68, 262–274.
Louws, M.L., Meirink, J.A., van Veen, K. i van Driel, J.H. (2017). Teachers’ self-directed learning and teaching experience: What, how, and why teachers want to learn. Teaching and Teacher Education: An International Journal of Research and Studies, 66(1), 171–183.
Luo, Y., Tack, H., Valcke, M., Zuo, H. i Vanderlinde, R. (2025). Unpacking the rural-urban gap of teacher involvement in inquiry-based working: The roles of school research culture and infrastructure. Professional Development in Education, 51(4), 585–602.
Łukasik, J. (2020). Rozwój osobisty i zawodowy nauczycielek w okresie wczesnej dorosłości. Edukacja Ustawiczna Dorosłych, 110(3), 85–97.
Madalińska-Michalak, J. (2009). Przestrzenie uczenia się nauczycieli: uczenie się w środowisku szkoły. Edukacja: Studia, Badania, Innowacje, 4, 22–33.
Madalińska-Michalak, J. (red.). (2018). Przywództwo nauczycieli. Wydawnictwo FRSE.
Madalińska-Michalak, J. (2021). Pedeutologia. Prawno-etyczne podstawy zawodu nauczyciela. Wydawnictwa Uniwersytetu Warszawskiego.
Malewski, M. (2010). Od nauczania do uczenia się. O paradygmatycznej zmianie w andragogice. Wydawnictwo Naukowe DSW.
Mockler, N. i Stacey, M. (2021). Evidence of teaching practice in an age of accountability: When what can be counted isn’t all that counts. Oxford Review of Education, 47(2), 170–188.
Mohan, P., Lingam, G. i Chand, D. (2017). A comparative study of rural and urban teachers’ perceptions of professional development. University of Tasmania.
Morris, T. H. (2024) Four dimensions of self-directed learning: A fundamental meta-competence in a changing world. Adult Education Quarterly, 74(3), 236–254.
Opfer, V.D. i Pedder, D. (2011). Conceptualizing teacher professional learning. Review of Educational Research, 81(3), 376–407.
Urbańczyk, F. (1973). Dydaktyka dorosłych. Zakład Narodowy im. Ossolińskich.
Verster, M., Mentz, E. i du Toit-Brits, C. (2024). Self-directed professional development used as intervention to enhance teachers’ curriculum as praxis. South African Journal of Education, 44(1), 1–17.
Walczak, D. (2012). Początkujący nauczyciele. Raport z badania jakościowego. Instytut Badań Edukacyjnych.
Wiłkomirska, A. i Zielińska, A. (2013). Ocena systemu awansu zawodowego nauczycieli w Polsce. Studium empiryczne. Wydawnictwa Uniwersytetu Warszawskiego.
Wróblewska, W. (2008). Autoedukacja studentów w uniwersytecie – ujęcie z perspektywy podmiotu. Trans Humana.
Wu, W.C.V., Ting, K.Y. i Lin, P. H. (2025). The impact of generative AI tools on language teaching and learning: Investigating prospective teachers’ self-directed learning. European Journal of Teacher Education, 48(5), 987–1012.
Copyright (c) 2026 HORIZONS OF EDUCATION
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NoDerivatives 4.0 International License.
Authors who publish in this journal agree to the following terms:
- Authors retain the copyright to their work while granting the journal the right of first publication. The work will be simultaneously licensed under a CC BY-ND license, which permits others to share the work with proper credit given to the author and the original publication in this journal.
- Authors may enter into additional, non-exclusive agreements for the distribution of the published version of the work (e.g., posting it in an institutional repository or publishing it in another journal), provided that the original publication in this journal is acknowledged.
We allow and encourage authors to share their work online (e.g., in institutional repositories or on personal websites) both before and during the submission process, as this can foster beneficial exchanges and lead to earlier and increased citations of the published work. (See The Effect of Open Access). We recommend using any of the following academic networking platforms:
