Investigating the Structure and the Pattern in Self-regulated Learning by High School Students - Key Findings and Framework

Oct 15, 2026

Uploaded by Grenda

This study investigates the structure and pattern of self-regulated learning among high-school students to clarify why prior research has yielded mixed results. An empirical framework is used to identify key dimensions and integrate complex findings. Results show self-regulated learning consists of three components—cognitive, motivational, and behavioral regulation. Students are further grouped into six clusters based on these components. The study supports conceptual understanding while noting methodological limitations.

LanguageEnglish

CategoryResearch & Report

FormatPDF

Pages8

Reading Time20 min

AccessFree to download

Introduction

Research problem and motivation

Concept of Self-regulated Learning (SRL)

Foundations and theoretical perspectives

Components and Structure of SRL

Cognitive, motivational, and behavioral regulation

Cognitive and Metacognitive Strategies

Planning, monitoring, and regulating

Motivational and Behavioral Dimensions

Motivation-centered explanations

Findings and Clustering

Six-cluster grouping by SRL components

Asia Pacific Education Review Copyright 2005 by Education Research Institute 2005, Vol. 6, No. 2, 162-169. Investigating the Structure and the Pattern in Self-regulated Learning by High School Students Myonghee Yang Kunsan National University Korea The research to explain student's self-regulated learning has grown rapidly in recent years. However, the studies on self-regulated learning have shown fascinating but mixed results. Thus, there is a need to identify and describe the key dimensions of self-regulated learning according to an empirical framework in order to integrate these complex results. This study attempts to explore the structure and the pattern of self-regulated learning. In a sample of high-school students, it was found that self-regulated learning consists of three components; cognitive regulation, motivational regulation, behavioral regulation. The result also shows that students can be grouped into six clusters in terms of these components. This study appears to be useful for understanding self-regulated learning conceptually but has some methodological limitations. Key Words: self-regulated learning, cognitive strategy, metacognitive strategy, mastery goal orientation, selfefficacy, achievement value, action control, help-seeking, an analysis of covariance structure , cluster analysis Why do some students achieve better results than others? For a long time, it has been a question many educational psychologists have pursued. Some tried to find the answer from student cognition. Although extensive research has been conducted, the focus of such studies has been on non-academic tasks in a laboratory setting, so that they could not adequately describe student's learning in a context like the home or classroom. Self-regulated learning (SRL) is a newly developed concept to explain the phenomena whereby the learners actively participate in their own learning and show goal directed behavior. Originally, the research in this area grew out of more general efforts to study self-control in Psychology (Zimmerman, 1989b) . It has prompted educational researchers Myonghee Yang, Assistant Professor at Department of General Education ofKunsan National University. Correspondence concerning this article should be addressed to the Department of General Education, College of Social Science, Kunsan National University, Kunsan, 573-701, Korea. Electronic mail may be sent [to clara@kunsan.ac.kr](to clara@kunsan.ac.kr). to consider student self-regulation during academic learning. They believed that effective learning can be achieved by self-regulation of the learners (Zimmerman, 1986) and tried to investigate the learning processes of the effective learners. After extensive discussions, some researchers published their results for the first time in 1986 in the journal of'Contemporary Educational Research'. Since they viewed learning as a process of self-regulation with much effort and endurance, they were interested in the learning methods used by effective learners. In contemporary terms, students can be described as self-regulated to the degree that they are metacognitively, motivationally and behaviorally active participants in their own learning process (Zimmerman, 1989) . However, more precise definitions tend to vary depending on the researcher's theoretical perspective. At the beginning of SRL research, asocial-cognitive perspective based on the work of Bandura (1989) was embraced. Since then, many researchers have tried to define SRL based on their own interests and theories ranging from behavioralism to modern cognitive psychology (Zimmerman & Schunk, 1989) . Self Regulated Learning Even though there is considerable agreement that effective learners do self-regulate, theories differ in their descriptions of the various psychological dimensions. Despite differences in these descriptions, we can classify these psychological dimensions into 3 categories: a) cognitioncentered studies b) motivation-

FAQs

What three components constitute self-regulated learning in the study?

The study finds self-regulated learning consists of cognitive regulation, motivational regulation, and behavioral regulation.

How are students grouped according to the research results?

Students can be grouped into six clusters based on the three SRL components.

Why does the paper argue that self-regulated learning research has mixed results?

The paper notes existing studies show fascinating but mixed findings, creating a need for an empirical framework to identify and integrate key dimensions across results.

Oct 15, 2026

Uploaded by Grenda