Peer review declarationThe publisher (AOSIS) endorses the South African 'National Scholarly Book Publishers Forum Best Practice for Peer Review of Scholarly Books'. The manuscript was subjected to rigorous two-step peer review prior to publication, with the identities of the reviewers not revealed to the author(s). The reviewers were independent of the publisher and/or authors in question. The reviewers commented positively on the scholarly merits of the manuscript and recommended that the manuscript be published. Where the reviewers recommended revision and/or improvements to the manuscript, the authors responded adequately to such recommendations. Research JustificationThis scholarly book is the third volume in an NWU book series on self-directed learning. It is devoted to self-directed learning research and its impact on educational practice. The importance of self-directed learning for learners in the 21st century to equip themselves with the necessary skills to take responsibility for their own learning for life cannot be over emphasised. The target audience does not only consist of scholars in the field of self-directed learning in Higher Education and the Schooling sector, but it also includes all scholars in the field of teaching and learning in the various education and training sectors. The book contributes to the discourse on creating dispositions towards self-directed learning among all learners and adds to the latest body of scholarship in terms of self-directed learning. Although from different perspectives, chapters in the book are closely linked together around selfdirected learning as central theme, following on the work done in Volume 1 of this series (Self-Directed Learning for the 21st Century: Implications for Higher Education), to form a rich knowledge bank of work on self-directed learning. This book serves as a valuable contribution to the body of scholarship in self-directed learning.In accordance with the requirements of the Department of Higher Education and Training, this book contains original content not published before and no part of the work was plagiarised.

The goal of this study is to offer guidelines for the application of technology-supported cooperative learning professional development to enhance teachers’ self-directed learning skills. A qualitative approach was used which was informed by the interpretive paradigm. Many technology-supported cooperative learning professional development prototypes were created as part of the iterative design-based research methodology used in this study. Seven primary school Mathematics teachers from South African government schools participated in the technology-supported cooperative learning professional development for six weeks as part of a purposive sample. All the participants were scheduled for data collection through semi-structured interviews and follow-up interviews. The qualitative analysis computer data analysis system was used to prepare, process, and analyse the data collected from the semi-structured interviews. According to the findings of this research, teachers needed professional development that is affordable, flexible, intensive, and ongoing. The findings of the study provided insights into the best practices for implementing technology-supported cooperative learning professional development and enhancing teachers' self-directed skills. The study has the potential to contribute to the field of professional development for teachers as it will provide evidence-based recommendations for the effective and sustainable implementation of technology-supported cooperative learning professional development.

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