AUTONOMY
Autonomy is the ability to act independently, that is, to govern oneself or self – rule.
People are said to be autonomous if they:
- Make their own decisions
- Are in control of their lives
- Listen to what others have to say, but make the final decisions
- Take responsibility for their own actions and behaviour
- Do not do things simply because others are doing them.
THE IMPORTANCE OF AUTONOMY
- It helps us think for ourselves and make independent decisions. This is important because
every choice or decision that we make shows our character or the kind of person we are.
Autonomy allows us to be the kind of person we want to be.
- It makes us accountable for our decisions and behaviour. We cannot blame others for our
wrong decisions or bad behaviour. We have to take responsibility for what we have done
or what we have failed to do.
- It helps us to resist negative or bad peer pressure. Negative peer pressure is when our
friends or age mates influence or persuade us to behave in immoral ways, to break rules
or laws, or to do things that can harm us and others. It is not easy to say ‘no’ to our
friends, unless we are able to think and act autonomously.
- We can give reasons for our decisions and behaviour. We can explain why we did or did
not do something and, why we value some things and not others.
- We can judge people or situations using our own values. Our judgments are not based on
other people’s opinions which may be biased or based on incorrect information.
- It builds a positive self-concept, high self –esteem, assertiveness and self confidence. We
can be proud of who we are and what we stand for.
WAYS OF PROMOTING AUTONOMY
Acting according to our personal values: Our values are whatever is important to us. By
basing our decisions, actions and behaviour on our values, we will act autonomously.
Following the decision-making steps: Autonomy means making our own decisions. We can
promote autonomy by following the decision making steps when making decisions, especially
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difficult ones. At the end of the decision-making process, whatever you choose to do will be your
own decision. You will also be able to give reasons for your decision.
Developing a positive self concept: People who have a positive self concept, have high self
esteem, are confident and assertive as a result they can act autonomously with ease.
Being assertive: If you are assertive, you can stand up for yourself and make your own
decisions. You have self –confidence and trust yourself to make good or right decisions. You are
more likely to be autonomous if you are assertive.
Taking responsibility for your actions and behaviour: People who take responsibility for their
actions are likely to be autonomous because they cannot blame others for the consequences of
their actions.
Encouraging self-reliance: Self –reliance means depending on yourself and doing things
yourself. If we encourage self-reliance, we promote autonomy. To be self–reliant you may have
to:
i) Learn new skills such as cooking or how to fix something that is broken.
ii) Find your own additional information and not just depend on what you have learned
in class.
iii) Study on your own instead of always studying with friends.
Providing people with disabilities with the skills and equipment they need to be independent:
People who cannot hear very well can be given hearing aids. Those who cannot hear at all can be
taught how to communicate using sign language. Visually impaired people can be taught to read
Braille so that they can read for themselves. Reading materials should be made available to them,
for example, school textbooks and newspapers.
People with certain physical disabilities can use wheel chairs, crutches or artificial limbs to help
them to move around on their own and take care of themselves as much as possible.
EXAMPLES OF AUTONOMOUS ACTIONS
Some of the ways in which people can demonstrate autonomous actions are:
a) Getting information and advice from other people but making the final decision
themselves.
b) Resisting negative peer pressure.
c) Copying other people’s behaviour only after judging that it is in line with their personal
values.
d) Completing their assignments, even the difficult ones without copying from others.
e) Doing school work without being reminded or forced to do so.
