Heutagogy, freedom and Teachers' agency

This paper explores how heutagogy (self-determined learning) can serve as a path to liberate higher education teachers from institutional, pedagogical, and epistemological constraints. Drawing on philosophical theories of liberty and freedom, this paper highlights how academic teachers are often oppressed through rigid curricula, hierarchical supervision, and the commodification of academia. It then discusses how heutagogy offers not only liberation from these constraints but also the possibility for authentic self-realization. The paper positions heutagogy as a transformative pedagogical model that enables both teachers and students to engage in shared inquiry, dialogical relationships, and critical reflection, while facilitating their agency within the academic endeavor. While acknowledging the emotional and professional costs of such liberation, we argue for a cultural shift in academia that would support teachers' freedom to teach.