Self-regulated learning and executive function: exploring the relationships in a sample of adolescent males

Abstract

Executive function (EF) is emerging as a construct that is of interest to educators, but its relationship with educationally relevant sets of skills such as self-regulated learning (SRL) are unclear. This study investigated relationships between SRL and EF in a sample of 254 school aged adolescent males. Two hypotheses were tested: that self-reported measures of SRL and EF are closely related within the sample and that as different aspects of EF mature during adolescence, the corresponding components of SRL should also improve, leading to an age-related increase in the correlation between EF and SRL. Two self-report instruments were used: the Strategies for Self-Regulated Learning Survey (SSRLS); and the Behavioural Rating Instrument of Executive Function (BRIEF). Strong correlations between the measures of EF and SRL were found, especially in areas associated with metacognitive processes, suggesting that SRL and EF share a conceptual core based on the efforts that individuals make to monitor their thoughts and actions and to act accordingly to control them. Age-related differences in correlations between EF and SRL were found, with weaker correlations between behavioural regulation and SRL in the younger participants (aged 10.5 to 12.5 years) while the relationship between EF and SRL appears to grow stronger for participants aged 12.5 to 15.5 years even though self-reported levels of EF along with motivation for SRL and important components of SRL such as goal setting and planning were found to decrease with age. Decreasing levels of motivation for learning during adolescence are speculated to moderate the deployment of SRL and EF in a school context.

The mediating role of metacognition in the relationship between executive function and self‐regulated learning

“…A secondary aim of the study was to examine how SRL is informed by EF. Previous research noted significant relations among EF, metacognition, and SRL (Effeney et al ., ; Garner, ). However, previous research emphasized the use of indirect measures of EF and had not evaluated how specific EFs are related to participants’ SRL.…”

“…Effeney et al . () highlighted these associations in combination with Dinsmore and colleagues’ analyses as evidence that ‘metacognition occupied the conceptual middle ground between EF and SRL’ (p. 788). This work and that of others (e.g., Garner, ) suggests an important role of metacognition and metacognitive processes in the relationship between EF and SRL.…”

“…We further expected that the inclusion of a direct measure of inhibition and shifting would account for additional variance in SRL over and above that accounted for by an indirect measure of EF (e.g., Fuhs et al ., ). Further, based on research implicating metacognitive processes as occupying a conceptual middle ground between EF and SRL (Effeney et al ., ), metacognition was expected to play a mediating role in the established relationship between EF and SRL (Figure ).…”

"More Confident Going into College": Lessons Learned from Multiple Stakeholders in a New Blended Learning Initiative

“…Table 1 provides a breakdown of data collection methods. We employed elements of an existing Self-Regulated Learning (SRL) coding scheme (Effeney, Carroll, & Bahr, 2013) and added our own emergent coding. The emergent coding process was based on the unique needs of the case study with codes for each stakeholder group.…”

“…Zimmerman (2002) coined the term self-regulated learning (SRL) not as "mental ability or an academic performance skill," but "rather…[a] selfdirective process by which learners transform their mental abilities into academic skills" (p. 65). SRL encourages the learner to plan, monitor, and complete a task based on goals, objectives, and instructions received (Effeney, Carroll, & Bahr, 2013;Hattie, 2013;Nicol & Macfarlane-Dick, 2006;Picciano, 2002;Picciano & Seaman, 2009Pintrich & Garcia, 1994;Pintrich & Zusho, 2002;Ryan & Deci, 2000;Schunk & Ertmer, 2000;Zimmerman 2000Zimmerman , 2002.…”