Children are born learning machines who want to learn and can manage their own learning. Unfortunately, today, they have very little freedom regarding what they do at school, how, and when they do it. Children who are prepared in this "externally determined" way will not have sufficient tools to survive in a world where they need to act autonomously and acquire skills in rapidly changing environments.

The book explores self-determined learning that emphasizes autonomy, transferring the responsibility for learning to the children and encouraging them to act on their own will. The main points concern ways to encourage self-determined learning in your classroom or school; the importance of methods supporting autonomy, competence, and relatedness; the conditions that facilitate self-determined learning; the training and assessment strategies for self-determined learning; practices, case studies, and resources to help children at your school self-determine their learning.