Imposed Environments: The Important Role of Fortuitous Intersections

Abstract

Scholars in self-directed and autonomous learning typically have adopted an agentic perspective of these phenomena that includes the characteristic of forethought; however, unanticipated fortuitous intersections with imposed aspects of the environment can catalyze such agency thereby influencing entire life trajectories. The purpose of this article is to discuss the role of fortuitous intersections in order to further our understanding of personal agency as manifest in learning.