‘Learning to learnʹ: teachersʹ conceptions of their supporting role

There is a general consensus in the educational community that ‘learning to learnʹ is an important educational goal. Despite this consensus, it is not clear how ‘learning to learnʹ is or should be implemented. Actually, teachers are using ‘learning to learnʹ in many different meanings and it is being implemented in many different variations. We interviewed 53 secondary schools teachers about their subjective interpretations and the way they implement ‘learning to learnʹ. According to Hounsell (Higher Education 8 (1979) 453), two groups have been distinguished: a group of teachers having a broad vision about ‘learning to learnʹ and a group of teachers with a narrow vision. These two groups are described in terms of their functions, task conception, conception of the learning process and the students and their instructional approach.