Introduction
Constructivist researchers have, with considerable assiduity, addressed the phenomenon of self-regulation, a focus which appears consonant with the central constructivist tenet that learners actively construct both knowledge and the methodologies for its acquisition and application. Diverse sources inform constructivist accounts of self-regulation, encompassing cognitive-developmental theories, antecedent cognitive frameworks (e.g., Gestalt psychology, the study of memory), and the esteemed Vygotsky's theoretical contributions (Paris & Byrnes, 1989). Irrespective of provenance, constructivist perspectives on self-regulation are predicated upon specific axioms (Paris & Byrnes, 1989).
Constructivist Axioms of Self-Regulation
- An inherent inclination towards the pursuit of information exists.
- Comprehension transcends the mere assimilation of presented information.
- Mental representations undergo transformation with developmental progression.
- Progressive refinements occur in the stratification of understanding.
- Developmental limitations impinge upon the process of learning.
- Reflection and reconstruction serve as stimuli to learning.
Two salient facets underpinning these axioms are the critical importance of socio-cultural influences and the propensity of individuals to formulate implicit theories concerning themselves, their interactions with others, and the optimal strategies for managing extant demands. These aspects shall be elucidated seriatim.
Sociocultural Influences
Vygotsky's (1978) constructivist theory of human development lends itself felicitously to self-regulation (Chapter 6). Recollect that Vygotsky held the belief that individuals and their cultural milieux constituted an interacting social system. Through their communications and actions, individuals within children's environments imparted to children the tools (e.g., language, symbols, signs) they required to acquire competence. Utilising these tools within the system, learners cultivate higher-level cognitive functions, such as concept acquisition and problem solving. As Vygotsky employed the term higher mental function, he signified a consciously directed thought process. In this sense, self-regulation may be conceived as a higher mental function (Henderson & Cunningham, 1994).
In the Vygotskian perspective, self-regulation encompasses the coordination of such mental processes as memory, planning, synthesis, and evaluation (Henderson & Cunningham, 1994). These coordinated processes do not operate independently of the context in which they are formed. Indeed, the self-regulatory processes of an individual reflect those that are valued and taught within the person's culture.
Vygotsky maintained that individuals came to control their own deliberate actions (i.e., learned to self-regulate). The primary mechanisms affecting self-regulation are language and the zone of proximal development (ZPD).
Kopp (1982) furnished a useful framework for understanding the development of the self-regulatory function of speech. In her view, self-regulation involves a transition from responding to the commands of others to the use of speech and other cognitive tools to plan, monitor, and direct one's activities.
Self-regulation also hinges upon learners being cognisant of socially approved behaviours (Henderson & Cunningham, 1994). The meaning of actions is contingent upon both the context and the tools (language, signs, and symbols) employed to describe the actions. Through interactions with adults in the ZPD, children effect the transition from behaviours regulated by others to behaviours regulated by themselves (self-regulation).
Wertsch (1979) delineated four stages of intersubjectivity that correspond to the degrees of responsibility held by parties in a social context. Initially, the child does not comprehend the adult's words or gestures, ergo, there is no intersubjectivity. With maturation of the child and greater sensitivity of the adult to the child's situation, a shared understanding of the situation develops, albeit responsibility for regulating behaviour still lies with the adult. In the third phase, the child learns the relation between speech and activity and assumes responsibility for the task. During the third phase, private speech is commonly employed to self-regulate behaviour. As this speech is internalised to self-directed thought, intersubjectivity becomes complete and self-regulation occurs independently. Internalisation becomes the key to use of self-regulatory processes (Schunk, 1999).
Promoting Internalisation
Many influences on students' self-regulation originate in their social environments, such as when teachers explicate and demonstrate specific strategies for students to utilise on academic content. But as the theories covered in this chapter make manifestly clear, these external inputs are not passively received by students but rather transformed by them into personal self-regulatory influences. As learners develop skills, the unidimensional social-to-self process becomes a bidirectional interactive process as learners modify their environments and enhance their learning. A key process is internalisation of information. Self-regulatory processes that are internalised are under the learner's control, whereas noninternalised processes are under the control of others. Internalised processes are represented mentally as thoughts, beliefs, procedures, strategies, and so forth. Although it is possible to learn without internalisation (e.g., when teachers direct students' actions), internalisation is needed for skill improvement over time and beyond the present learning setting. The net result of internalisation is a set of self-regulatory influences that learners employ to promote their motivation and learning.
Kathy Stone works with her children to assist them in internalising spelling rules. For example, she teaches them the rhyme, "I before E except after C or when sounded like A as in Neighbour or Weigh." When she gives them spelling words with ie or ei in them, she asks them to verbalise aloud the rhyme. Then once they regularly do this, she advises them to whisper the rhyme, and eventually to say it quietly to themselves (subvocally). She employs this same procedure with other spelling rules, teaching students to internalise rules so that they can generate them in response to various spelling words.
Jim Marshall does not desire his students to conceive of history as the memorising of facts. Instead, he wishes them to develop skills of historical analysis. He teaches them questions to ask to analyse historical events, such as: What happened? Who were the influential people? What events led up to this event? How might this event have turned out differently if the events leading up to it had changed? Early in his course he has students write out the answers to these questions as they analyse events. As students develop skills of historical analysis, he asks them to formulate their own strategy that will capture the same type of information. They internalise this strategy as their own as they apply it to historical events, as well as to current events involving elections, the economy, and wars.
As part of her educational psychology course, Gina Brown teaches her students self- regulation strategies to use when studying the course content. For example, she teaches them how to effectively underline and highlight information in text, how to summarise chapter content, how to budget their study time, and how to create an effective study environment. Each student formulates a study plan to use for the chapters. She provides feedback on these and asks the students to revise their plans as the semester progresses based on their evaluations of the plan's effectiveness. By the end of the semester, the goal is for students to be using their study plans routinely and adapting them as needed based on study requirements (e.g., studying some chapters requires access to the Internet).
It is noteworthy that even after an adult or teacher is no longer present, the child's self-regulatory activity may heavily reflect that person's influence. Although the action is self-directed, it is the internalised regulation of the other's influence. Often the child may repeat the same words used by the adult. In time, the child will construct his or her self-regulatory activity and it will become idiosyncratic.
Implicit Theories
Implicit theories (vide Chapters 6 and 8) constitute inherent features within constructivist accounts appertaining to learning, cognition, and motivation. Students, furthermore, do construct theories regarding self-regulated learning. These theories subsist alongside theories concerning others and their respective worlds; hence, self-regulated learning theories are rendered highly contextualised (Paris, Byrnes, & Paris, 2001).
A principal type of implicit theory encompasses children's convictions pertaining to their academic proficiencies. Children who encounter learning impediments and who harbour the belief that such impediments reflect a paucity of ability are disposed to evince scant motivation towards the attainment of success. The convictions that exertion begets success and that learning engenders superior ability are positively correlated with efficacious self-regulation.
Children, furthermore, do develop theories concerning their competence relative to their peers. Through social comparisons with others of similar constitution, they formulate perceptions of ability and of their relative standing within their class. They also commence to differentiate their perceptions according to subject area and to ascertain the degree of their intellectual acumen in subjects such as reading and mathematics.
In consonance with these convictions, children formulate theories concerning the determinants of success in disparate domains. Self-regulatory strategies may be general in nature, such as the taking of notes and the rehearsing of information intended for learning, or they may be idiosyncratic to a particular area. Whether these strategies possess genuine utility is immaterial. By virtue of their constructed nature, they may prove to be misleading.
Learners, furthermore, do develop theories concerning agency and the degree of control that they wield in academic situations. This power to act in order to procure desired outcomes constitutes a central tenet of social cognitive theory (Bandura, 1997) and of constructivist theories (Martin, 2004). Bandura maintained that self-efficacy exerts a pivotal influence upon agency, whereas constructivist theories place greater emphasis upon learners' activities within their physical and sociocultural environments (Martin, 2004). With respect to learners' theories, they may possess a sense of self-efficacy and believe in their capability to learn that which is being imparted in the schoolroom. Conversely, they may entertain grave doubts concerning their learning capabilities. Again, these convictions may or may not accurately capture verity. Research has demonstrated, for instance, that children frequently evince a high degree of self-efficacy regarding the successful solution of mathematical problems, even subsequent to the provision of feedback indicating that they had failed to solve the majority or entirety of the problems they attempted (Bandura & Schunk, 1981). The correspondence between self-efficacy judgments and actual performance may be affected by a multitude of factors (Bandura, 1997; Schunk & Pajares, 2009).
Another class of theories encompasses schooling and academic tasks (Paris et al., 2001). These theories incorporate information pertaining to the content and skills imparted in schools and that which is requisite for the learning of said content and skills. The objectives that students formulate for schooling may not be consistent with those of teachers and parents. For instance, teachers and parents may desire students to perform commendably, but students' objectives may be to cultivate friendships and to eschew untoward circumstances. With respect to a particular subject area (e.g., reading), students may harbour an objective of comprehending the text or merely of verbalising the words upon a page. An objective of writing may be to fill the lines upon a page or to compose a short narrative.
Self-regulation, ergo, entails individuals constructing theories concerning themselves (e.g., abilities, capabilities, typical exertion), others, and their environments. These theories are constructed partly through direct instruction from others (e.g., teachers, peers, and parents), but also largely through their personal reflections upon their performances, environmental effects, and responses from others. Theories are constructed utilising the instruments (language, signs, and symbols) and within social contexts, frequently through instruction within the Zone of Proximal Development.
The desideratum is for students to construct a self-identity as students. Their convictions are influenced by parents, teachers, and peers and may encompass stereotypes associated with gender, culture, and ethnic background. Paris et al. (2001) contended that the separation of identity development and self-regulated learning is an impossibility, inasmuch as achievement behaviours serve as indicators of the individuals whom students believe themselves to be or whom they aspire to become. Strategies cannot be imparted independently of the goals, roles, and identities of students. In other terms, self-regulation is intimately linked with personal development.
Children are intrinsically motivated to construct explanatory frameworks and to comprehend their educational experiences (Paris et al., 2001). When they attain success, they construct theories of competence, tasks, and themselves, which aid in the learning and utilisation of adaptive learning strategies. However, when they do not attain success, they may construct inappropriate goals and strategies. To employ terminology from cognitive psychology, implicit theories incorporate declarative and conditional knowledge that underlies procedural knowledge. In brief, self-regulation is heavily dependent upon the manner in which children perceive themselves and achievement tasks (Dweck & Master, 2008).