A Critical Systematic Review of the Impact of the Flipped Classroom Methodology on University Students’ Autonomy

In recent years, the Flipped Classroom methodology has garnered significant interest among educators due to its potential to provide students with the flexibility to learn wherever and whenever they want. It is believed that this change in teaching may enable students to self-manage, becoming more independent and autonomous. To investigate whether the use of Flipped Classroom can help students become more autonomous, a systematic review was conducted using the PRISMA method, searching through major national and international databases. A total of 38 studies (n = 2420 students) were collected and classified based on the validity of the research design employed. The analyses revealed that although Flipped Classroom can contribute to the development of students’ learning autonomy, there are certain doubts regarding this assertion, as results from studies with higher validity point to mixed outcomes. In order to obtain a more accurate understanding of reality, it is highly recommended that future studies examining the impact of the Flipped Classroom methodology on students’ learning autonomy address the limitations found in the literature, such as the scarcity of longitudinal designs with randomized control groups, the lack of studies conducted in non-university stages, and the small quantity of participants used in interventions.