In Search of Freedom and Knowledge
Irina Chudova
Photo: The internet is seen as a place of freedom on an academic, civic, and personal level. Photo by RoonZ nl on Unsplash
Online learning, the prevalence of which grew significantly during the pandemic, provides all participants with mobility and freedom from being tied to a specific location. When states increase control over the process and content of education, online learning offers a chance to access knowledge free from prohibitions and censorship.
About the Study
I conducted a quick analysis of the motivational letters of potential participants in online courses, as well as feedback from students who had completed courses. This analysis, which focused on students at one online institution, made it possible to test assumptions about:
- the significance of academic freedom in the online space; and
- its constituent components.
The analysis was limited to students who applied for or participated in courses at an online university specializing in the social sciences and humanities in 2023-2025.
The research materials included 130 motivational letters from prospective students, written in a free-form style, and 30 reviews from students who had completed the course. The instructor asked the students to share their impressions of the course “from the perspective of academic freedom.”
The discourse of the motivational letters and reviews has certain limitations. For example, students may be motivated by the desire to be admitted to the course or to express gratitude to the instructor after completing the course. Nonetheless, the findings obtained are productive for a preliminary understanding of how significant students consider academic freedom to be.
* Excerpts from texts written by potential and actual course participants are presented in the text in italics and in quotation marks.
The Components of Online Freedom
Freedom from external administrative or political restrictions. In the texts written by potential and actual participants in these online social science and humanities courses, this type of freedom is frequently mentioned as an advantage of online learning. This emphasis can be linked to the increased regulation of education in those countries where participants live (primarily Russia).
“Academic freedom is, of course, important in education because without it, it’s not education, but indoctrination.”
“I have stressed for myself the importance of freedom in the educational process, since knowledge, reflection, and discoveries should not be subject to dictates of a governmental, administrative, and/or ideological nature. Pluralism in education is important in order to continue on the path to truth.”
“…the opportunity to receive an education free from ideological constraints and censorship, and to develop in my chosen field in an environment of open discussion and diverse approaches.”
In some cases, students justified their desire to study online by citing the lack or poor quality of existing offline education. Importantly, this argument is also embedded in the trend toward restricting academic freedoms:
“I’m looking for a way to receive a new education that allows me to study what interests me. Unfortunately, it is no longer possible to get this at Russian universities and since I’m not currently able to study in another country, for the past two years I’ve been independently reading books and listening to lectures.”
“I am currently a first-year undergraduate student in a Sociology program. The program seems very dull, poorly structured, and also propagandistic.”
Freedom in organizing the educational process. This kind of freedom was highlighted most strongly by students. It can be presumed that this is the most important component for them.
It became clear that students choosing online courses understood academic freedom in a wide variety of ways, including:
- freedom to choose a subject;
- freedom to select a research topic and express a perspective; and
- freedom to conduct the analysis.
“For me, as the student, it’s very cool, because among other things, there’s an element of self-actualization in it—where it leads me and what observations I make based on what resonates with me, what’s interesting to me and what I consider important.”
“The way comparisons are drawn and the point of view from which this is done, as well as the conclusions you come to— all this is also a domain of freedom, including the possibility to change everything along the way.”
In understanding academic freedom, we can identify certain micropractices related to the conduct of a course and the micro-politics of how the instructor teaches it. For example, the mode of presentation and discussion of the material is extremely important: it matters whether the instructor is open and the students have the opportunity to express their own point of view on the subject being studied.
“The opportunity to express my own point of view, regardless of whether or not it aligns with that of the theorist, the professor, or other students.
At the same time, [you] warmly and openly welcomed our scientific fantasies. I would especially like to highlight the list of epithets used: “delicious,” “interesting,” “intriguing,” “you sound very insightful,” “an interesting perspective.”
At the same time, behind these micro-practices lies a scenario of macro-freedoms for the learners, who apparently experience the formation of their subjectivity during the learning process:
“…the opportunity to gain fundamental knowledge in the field of sociology and begin shaping one’s own research agenda.”
Here, the learner is sufficiently reflective to acknowledge the necessity and importance of certain limitations on freedom in this process, for the sake of organization and self-organization.
“For effective learning, there is a significant lack of material discussion, written analysis with feedback from a competent teacher, and, most importantly, a logical and consistent system.”
“Ultimately, it’s important for me to have a framework, a logical structure, to orient myself within the subject, and then I can ‘dive deeper’ into what’s particularly interesting.”
“For me, there was a perfect balance of freedom and frustration in the course.”
Specific Motives and Levels of Freedom
Like-minded thinkers. The current context is important, as concerns about what is happening in Russia and the world at large encourage participants to study alongside like-minded individuals—people who share similar views and values.
“Taking courses at [online university] is an opportunity for me to find like-minded thinkers, to be in an environment with people who think what is going on is a catastrophe.”
“Because when everything is so divided and uncomfortable, it’s always a joy to ‘find your people.”
Therapy. A significant motivation for participants in online courses is the desire for a therapeutic experience. They seek to shift their attention to acquiring knowledge in order to alleviate the emotional distress caused by current events.
“…to distance myself from the terrifying everyday reality“
“The decision to take this course was one of the small choices I’m making to break free from the soul-crushing feeling of living in these troubled times.”
Freedom of Speech. Academic freedom takes on a special significance in conditions of censorship and repression, existing alongside the fundamental civil liberty of freedom of speech.
“The values of the…university are close to my heart. I am convinced that in the [social] sciences, it is impossible to move forward without pluralism of opinion, free discussion, and without raising challenging questions. That is why it is so important for me to take this course.”
“And I also want to listen to and talk with normal people who are not afraid to say what they think, and who are not bound by obligations to the university or its policies.”
Conclusions
The grouping and analysis of motives related to studying at an online university led me to the conclusion that students position and exercise themselves as independent and strategic subjects in their choices.
“Within the framework of the university course, it proved impossible to delve into the subject in detail, which I would like to rectify with the help of this [online] course.”
“For me, participating in this course is an opportunity to fill the gaps in my education.”
Thus, an examination of participants’ motivations for studying in online courses revealed a connection between academic freedom and both personal and civic freedom.
Scheme for Correlating Levels of Freedom
- PERSONAL FREEDOM: personal development, self-realization, therapy
- ACADEMIC FREEDOM: freedom of knowledge, freedom of research
- CIVIC FREEDOM: freedom of speech and expression of opinion, finding like-minded people
* * *
Restricted access to non-ideological knowledge is pushing students to seek education through online platforms. The online environment is perceived as a place of academic, civic, and personal freedom.
Academic freedom is an essential component of student motivation. Online education today is perceived as more flexible than traditional in-person forms of learning.
The interconnectedness of these different levels of freedom is highlighted by the increasing restrictions on free education. In these circumstances, teaching online courses takes on particular importance and responsibility.
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