Abstract
Self-regulation is one of multiple noncognitive measures that have been found to relate to academic achievement. Zimmerman and Kitsantas (2014) have distinguished self-regulation from the construct of self-discipline and provided evidence that only the former is predictive of high-school GPA, while controlling for the latter. In this brief report we present a preregistered replication study of their finding using secondary data obtained from a published article by Jung et al. (2017). Despite minor differences in the sample, the measures and the analysis approach, the replication supported the original claim that self-regulation was predictive of academic achievement for undergraduate students, while self-discipline was unrelated to the outcome. The positive association for the self-regulation variable with academic achievement was smaller, but in the same direction as in the original study.
Highlights
Educational achievement depends on many factors (Hattie, 2009)
As an indicator of self-regulation, we used the “academic self-discipline” variable, a five-item scale score developed by Jung and others; items from the Big Five Inventory were adjusted to the school context “to measure contextualized self-regulation of effort” (p.36)
Self-regulation of effort was positively and statistically significantly associated with students’ Grade Point Average (GPA) at a moderate degree (b 0.272, β 0.336, SE 0.056, p < 0.001), while controlling for students’ levels on the self-discipline facet of conscientiousness, which was not associated with GPA (b −0.040, β −0.052, SE 0.053, p 0.454)
Summary
Contextual and institutional variables, as well as individual difference variables appear to predict educational achievement. At the individual student level, cognitive abilities are positively associated with achievement (e.g., Deary et al, 2007). Self-regulation encompasses purposeful actions, monitored and sustained by the learner, to achieve learning goals. Research on self-regulation has developed from the study of metacognitive and cognitive strategies, to include motivational beliefs, such as goal orientations, self-efficacy, interest, and causal attributions (Zimmerman, 2011). Interventions focusing on the promotion of these motivational beliefs have been developed to support planning, adapting, and guiding their behavior, for attaining personal goals such as high academic achievement (e.g., Schunk and Gunn, 1986; Wibrowski et al, 2017). The theoretical framework of self-regulated learning, a broader umbrella term for variables influencing learning, has flourished with multiple models appearing in the literature (Panadero, 2017) and underscores the importance of this area of research in the teaching and learning process
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