What Does Autonomy Really Mean?

It’s a question I’ve been asking myself a lot lately:what does autonomy really mean?

Not just in life, but in learning.

It became even more central to me when my son started secondary school. Since then, I’ve heard the word “autonomy” countless times — it’s in every teacher’s message, every report, every goal.But when I ask what the school is actually doing to build that autonomy, the answers are rarely clear.

“Well, at 12, they should start taking responsibility and initiative!”Really?

That question stayed with me. So I did a little research on how autonomy develops, and what conditions allow it to grow.

I came across a short, insightful video that sums it up beautifully.

Here’s what I took away from it:

For someone — child or adult — to become truly autonomous, they need to be able to:

🌱 choose their own goals and strategies,

🌱 organize their time and learning process,

🌱 cultivate perseverance,

🌱 and reflect on their progress along the way.

But in most traditional school systems, that’s not how things work.Learning is dictated. The pace is imposed. The methods are prescribed (often memorization). And evaluation is used as an end, rather than a tool for growth.

So under these conditions, how can true autonomy ever flourish?

That question is what led me to Neurolanguage Coaching®. My goal was to give learners back ownership of their learning — to help them understand how their brain works, set their own goals, choose their strategies, and learn at their own rhythm.

Now, I also train other professionals in Switzerland to use this approach, so they can, in turn, guide learners in a more supportive and empowering way.

Even as adults, taking control of our own learning isn’t easy. We’ve been trained by school systems that taught us to wait for instructions — what to learn, how to do it, and when.

But once you realize you can make your own choices, organize your time, and trust yourself to learn your way, it’s transformative. It’s freedom. And it’s one of the greatest victories a learner can experience.

Because from that moment on, everything becomes possible.