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Global Health Econ Sustain Self-directed learning supporting mental health

Kirschner, 2020). With respect to online learning, a notable & Arpaci, 2021). This shift offers the prospect of promoting
relationship exists between digital literacy competence, positive psychosocial outcomes in a way that, both
academic performance, and readiness for self-directed fundamentally and historically, has not been achievable
learning (Sari, 2022). For self-directed learning to be through standardized learning in public school settings
effective, it must originate from students’ self-initiated (Ghorbani & Golparvar, 2020).
motivations and personal values rather than being imposed This study has two main objectives: (i) To highlight
by external factors (Loeng, 2018; Nash, 2020; Schweder & the findings obtained from a brief Google Scholar search,
Raufelder, 2022). In contrast to achieving high academic which focused on relevant peer-reviewed articles related
results through standardized learning, high academic to self-directed learning, online learning, mental health,
achievers who engaged in student-initiated self-directed and public schools for students during COVID-19, and
learning during the COVID-19 pandemic experienced (ii) to propose a framework for addressing the difficulties
positive psychosocial outcomes (Kuntz & Manokore, 2022; in these articles, particularly concerning self-initiated
Mathana & Galdolage, 2023). However, for those students learning and reduced parental expectations related to
who did not initiate self-directed learning and lacked standardized learning. The ultimate aim is to facilitate
readiness for it, the experience of being required to engage the appropriate use of self-initiated self-directed learning
in self-directed learning during the COVID-19 pandemic in online learning, with the goal of improving the mental
was found to have detrimental effects (Al-Adwan et al., health of public school students and achieving positive
2022). Challenges associated with self-directed learning psychosocial outcomes.
have the potential to hinder students’ academic success and
mental health if not adequately recognized and addressed, This study is significant as it is the first attempt to evaluate
particularly those associated with parental expectations the impact of self-directed online learning on the mental
(Al-Adwan et al., 2022; Maltais et al., 2021) health of public school students during COVID-19 from
three perspectives: (i) whether the learning was self-initiated
Parental expectations encompass a range of assumptions and/or parents relaxed their expectations of standardized
that parents hold regarding their children’s academic learning; (ii) the challenges related to internet connectivity;
success, which may manifest through various behaviors. and (iii) any biases in the initial assumptions made by the
These behaviors include expressing their expectations authors of these studies regarding self-directed learning,
regarding their children’s academic achievement and online learning and/or mental health. This research holds
actively participating in their children’s education, both at importance because self-directed online learning, when
home and/or in school, with the aim of enhancing their self-initiated and unhampered by parental expectations,
children’s educational outcomes (Pinquart & Ebeling, has shown the potential to promote students’ positive
2020; Yu et al., 2022). These expectations represent an mental health and lead to positive psychosocial outcomes
important yet complex variable regarding their children’s (Kuntz & Manokore, 2022; Mathana & Galdolage, 2023),
mental health (Almroth et al., 2019). However, parental in contrast to the standardized learning of public schooling
expectations are not the sole influencing factor on students’ (Ghorbani & Golparvar, 2020), deplored by Dewey (1916).
academic achievement and mental health. The self- In conclusion, the challenges identified in studies related to
initiation of self-directed learning by students is pertinent self-directed learning in public schooling during COVID-
(Cronin-Golomb & Bauer, 2023), as it has been identified 19 can be addressed through reliable internet access for
as a dependent variable for positive psychosocial outcomes students and by considering potential researcher bias when
associated with self-directed learning (Kuntz & Manokore, assessing mental health in the context of self-directed online
2022; Mathana & Galdolage, 2023). learning. By prioritizing self-initiation of self-directed
To alleviate the mental health crisis in students, it learning, unimpeded by parental expectations tied to
is essential to foster positive psychosocial outcomes standardize learning, online education has the potential to
(Hossain et al., 2020). These outcomes, within the context yield positive psychosocial outcomes, thereby contributing
of public schooling, encompass the reduction of anxiety, to improvements in the mental health of public school
enhancement of resilience, improvement of well-being, students in ways inaccessible through standardized learning
and the promotion of positive mental health in children – potentially aiding in alleviating the current internationally
and adolescents (Andermo et al., 2020). With online recognized mental health crisis in students.
learning now established as a viable option for public
schooling due to the impact of COVID-19, the capacity 2. Data and methods
to support self-directed online learning has emerged as a In this concise review, the parameters were explored
potentially sustainable feature of public schooling (Karatas by searching for articles containing the keywords

Volume 1 Issue 2 (2023) 3 https://doi.org/10.36922/ghes.1219