Redefining autonomy in low-achieving high-school students: Collaborative learning in Taiwan-context classrooms

The study endorses the idea of interdependence as a trait of autonomy, which dignifies low-achieving students’ autonomy developed in English-language classrooms. A modified autonomy scale, adapted from Nunan’s five levels of autonomy development, monitored low-achieving learners’ autonomy. This action research explores the pedagogical design of collaborative learning to improve low-achieving students’ autonomy. Twenty low-achieving students (out of 29) as target participants come from a vocational high school in Hualien County, Taiwan. The result via observation and group-focus interviews displayed that the quality of intra-group interactions, deciding whether target participants’ need was satisfied, influences target participants’ tendency to be autonomous. In this study, leader-assigned groups where target participants could access available ‘resources’ (leaders) without exposing themselves to teachers to complete their individual/collective goals could produce those interactions. This indicates their greater responsibility for their learning. This study could provide an inspiring perspective for practitioners to redefine autonomy in low-achieving students.