The changing educational context and dynamic needs around increasing online learning at all education levels highlight the importance of self-directed learning. In this regard, self-directed learning, which involves both a process and student characteristic, relates to the students taking charge of their learning in terms of setting aims, choosing material or human resources, choosing appropriate learning strategies and evaluating their learning. This chapter involves a systematic literature review that explores research on self-directed learning at school and higher education within the African context. This concept, despite the origins of the scholarship of self-directed learning being from the Global North and the West, is more expansive and, this chapter specifically aims to give an overview of the current discourses around self-directed learning in Africa. This chapter critically examined key literature regarding self-directed learning in this milieu and inductively identified general trends. Despite self-directed learning’s focus on the individual, it seems to be a very appropriate learning process towards communal learning utilising cooperative learning strategies that support self-directed learning. Finally, the chapter provides a synthesis of the main trends around self-directed learning in Africa while identifying certain areas for future research. © 2021, The Author(s), under exclusive license to Springer Nature Singapore Pte Ltd.
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