A Study on the Gap between the Ideal and Practice of Autonomous and Self-governing Activities in Creative Experiential Activities

This study aims to establish future directions for the effective design and implementation of the autonomous and self-governing activities area within the creative experiential activities by examining the ideals of the curriculum and the realities within its classroom execution. First, a literature review was conducted to examine the trends in creative experiential activities and to explore the nature and curricular significance of autonomous and self-governing activities. Subsequently, in-depth interviews were carried out with eight in-service teachers to explore their perceptions and practices regarding these activities. The analysis of the collected data revealed a gap between the ideal and actual implementation, categorized into four themes: misconceptions about autonomous and self-governing activities, the disjunction between the rhetoric of open education and the reality of closed education, structural constraints that hinder teacher initiative, and skepticism about the cultivation of competencies. Drawing on a follow-up focus group discussion (FGD) with three curriculum experts, the study proposes four recommendations to bridge this gap: (1) establish a foundation for genuinely open educational approaches; (2) eliminate barriers that obstruct autonomous planning and implementation; (3) create conditions that allow for deeper, more meaningful autonomous and self-governing activities; and (4) actively support teachers by valuing and responding to their voices in the design and operation of such programs.