The contribution of the teaching-learning environment to the development of self-regulation in learning

Abstract

This study focuses in the students’ perception of self-regulation in learning as influenced by the teaching-learning-environment. The study was conducted at the University of Pretoria. The participants in the study were first year students registered for a second semester module in Educational Psychology in the faculty of education. The size of the sample was nine (22,5%) male students and 31 (77,5%) female students. At the time of participation, the participants had attended university for a period of at least six months and had written tests and one examination. The Interactive Qualitative Analysis (IQA) method as described by Northcutt and McCoy (2004) was used to elicit participants’ knowledge and experiences of the research phenomenon. The participants were expected to complete an instrument that required them to indicate the direction of three relationships between all combinations of the themes which were selected on the basis of literature review. The participants were required to indicate how they perceive the nature of relationships between themes that were developed by the researcher as associated with self-regulated learning in a system of cause and effect. The main findings of the study indicate that language of instruction and student personality are primary drivers that determine the academic success of the students. The two themes exert great influence on other themes that are involved in the teaching-learning environment. Academic success emerged as primary outcome which means that it is a theme that depends to a large extent on how the other themes that exist in the teaching-learning environment are structured. The findings of the study indicate that there is no significant difference that exists in the male and female participants’ perception of the factors that influence self-regulation in learning. In both sample primary drivers were language of instruction and students’ personality and the primary outcome was academic success.