Essentially, higher education, in general, requires autonomy from the learners to be able to reflect on their performance, make decisions, and subsequently take responsibility for them. Candy (1991) has defined the concept of independent study as: “a process, a method and a philosophy of education: in which a student acquires knowledge by his or her own efforts and develops the ability for inquiry and critical evaluation.” However, self-study may be different depending on the cultural environment and country.
Personally, being an international student in Switzerland I have gained a strong academic foundation and independent study experience before moving to London for my MFP program. Regardless of certain similarities between the EU and UK academic environment, during this course, I was able to look at myself from a different angle in terms of educational approach and defined differences from my previous experience.
As an international student, I was startled by the amount of work outside the classroom when I moved to Switzerland for my bachelor’s degree. My high school program in Russia was based on memorization and repetitive exercises, restricting the ability to critically thinking. At that time, I did not realize the weaknesses of the method as I had no chance to compare it with other systems.
Initially, moving to the UK, I thought that there is nothing new for me to adapt to, as I was already an experienced student in the international environment. Nevertheless, I realized that I was mistaken and to study successfully I had to analyze my experience and expand the set of academic and personal skills.
Firstly, the major difference I have perceived was the number of individual assessments. I was not used to working on my own on composite projects but worked commonly in a group where all tasks were divided between members blurring the responsibility of the result.
For example, currently, I am finishing the research project for my “Quantitative Methods” class. With time, I found myself frustrated working on the project reluctantly. My approach brought about a lack of coherency and occurred to be irrelevant for this type of work. The reason was me paying attention to small details in each step rather than looking at the bigger picture. Having analyzed the outcome I now know that I must keep in mind the main aim and reason for anything I work on to achieve great results and keep motivation.
Time management with no doubt has been my major weakness. According to Macan (1994), time management means “setting goals to achieve the needs or wants and prioritizing the tasks necessary to accomplish them”. However, I could not evaluate the significance of that skill due to the tight schedule at the university and frequent supervision meetings with tutors, which did not allow me to fall back. On the contrary, for the last few months in London, I have been planning my schedule thoroughly as an essential part of my independent study. As a result, I improved my efficiency, productivity and learned how to manage my time to achieve my own established goals.
Additionally, I noticed that other factors such as dress code have an impact on self-study management. Back in Switzerland, I had to wear a certain uniform and groom appropriately. Having eliminated these standards in the UK, I became more flexible and was able to put more time and effort into my academic routine.
Throughout my first term in the UK, I have gained a better understanding of my personality. As for Honey (1982), I am a pragmatist, meaning I rush to action without thinking and enjoy solving problems. Thus, it proves that I lack skills such as time management and planning which I intend to continue improving in the future.
Furthermore, by implementing a reflective journal into my weekly schedule, I can stand back and get perspective of issues I face and decisions I make. Therefore, I will focus on self-studying and adjust my schedule better according to the goals I pursue.
Reference list
Candy, P. (1991) Self-direction for lifelong learning: a comprehensive guide to theory and practice. San Francisco: Jossey Bass.
Honey, P. (2006). Learning Styles Questionnaire. Peter Honey Publications Limited
Macan, T. H. (1994). Time management: Test of a process model. Journal of Applied Psychology, 79(3), 381–391. doi:10.1037/0021-9010.79.3.381
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