Confessore (1992) proposed that desire, initiative, resourcefulness and persistence are critical factors for understanding why adults engage in independent and self‐directed learning endeavors. A series of four studies identified the conative factors associated with each construct through the development of a conceptual model that provides a framework for understanding autonomous learning. It is proposed that these constructs are embedded in the larger construct of learner autonomy. A learner who can exhibit personal autonomy will exhibit all of the identified behaviors identified as characteristic behaviors of autonomous learning. The series of four studies (desire, resourcefulness, initiative, and persistence) individually produced valid and reliable instruments, and ultimately produced a single instrument, The Learner Autonomy Profile, that quantifies an individual's intentions to engage in autonomous learning endeavors.
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