Towards the development of learner autonomy of Portuguese mechanical engineering students

At the turn of the XXI century, the Bologna Process reinforced the importance of learner autonomy, advocating the adoption of a student-centered paradigm, and placing on the student the responsibility of actively participating in the definition and construction of its educational process. Learner autonomy, as an ability to be responsible for one's own learning and, having this ability, make full use of it, learning in a self-directed manner, has been identified as one of the goals of higher education and as a condition for effective learning. This research aims to identify relationships between learning autonomy and the progression in the studies cycle of Portuguese mechanical engineering students, and by doing so, help to facilitate the adoption of a student-centered learning paradigm. The results show that the development of learner autonomy is not linear and decreases in the 2nd curricular year (studies cycle with three years), meaning that these students will need activities that adequately support their learning.