Title: Self-directed success: unlocking university students' autonomy in digital learning

Authors: Yifan Zhu; Haozhe Jiang

Addresses: College of Education, Zhejiang University, Hangzhou, China ' College of Education, Zhejiang University, Hangzhou, China

Abstract: College students' learning autonomy refers to their capacity for self-directed decision-making, management, and regulation. In the digital era, this ability has grown increasingly vital. Current research mainly explored how digital environments and tools affected this autonomy, highlighting features such as unpredictable mechanisms, relative independence, and transitional learning stages. Students today face challenges like fragmented content, disrupted pacing, and weakened motivation. However, digital learning also offers significant benefits. Diverse resources, flexible methods, personalised paths, instant feedback, and collaborative online communities enhance engagement and develop college students' key skills like critical thinking and self-management. To boost college students' learning autonomy, educators should follow a motivation-driven approach to autonomous learning, strengthen learners' self-regulation abilities, improve learners' ability to discern content, develop learners' critical thinking, adapt to learners' self-paced learning rhythms, open up learners' life spaces and support learners in continuous learning.

Keywords: digitalisation; learning autonomy; autonomous learning; college students.

DOI: 10.1504/IJSMARTTL.2025.150944

International Journal of Smart Technology and Learning, 2025 Vol.4 No.4, pp.379 - 402

Received: 07 Oct 2024
Accepted: 20 Aug 2025
Published online: 05 Jan 2026 *

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