Losing oneself: Autonomy and wellbeing in tutorial innovations

Wellbeing has increasingly become a major focus of social policy, and education as part of that policy process, and yet as Peters & Tymms (2016) have commented tutorial innovations such as the use of PDP within the tutorial sessions often tend to relocate the students development processes within an interpersonal politic in which the needs of the system dominate the needs of the individual. With autonomy being shown to be a fundamental aspect of wellbeing (Ryan & Deci 2001, Rhyff 1989, Wichmann 2011) this paper aims to use Ryan & Deci’s Self – Determination Theory to discuss threats to student wellbeing where they are disempowered by tutorial processes in which they are no longer in control of the process at either an academic or personal level.