Self-Regulated Learning and the Understanding of Complex Outcomes

Abstract

Monique Boekaerts 1 and Mariel Musso 2, 3, 4 and Eduardo C. Cascallar 2, 4 1, Center for the Study of Learning and Instruction, Leiden University, The Netherlands 2, Centre for Research on Teaching and Training, Katholieke Universiteit Leuven, Belgium 3, Universidad Argentina de la Empresa, Buenos Aires, Argentina 4, Assessment Group International, USA/Europe, Brussels, BelgiumReceived 29 November 2012; Accepted 29 November 2012This is an open access article distributed under the Creative Commons Attribution License, which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited.There is ample evidence that the study of self-regulation and self-regulated learning (SRL) in particular is of significant importance in education and in the understanding of the variables that influence learning. In this context, the role of assessment is central to the current work in the field of self-regulation research, to the conceptualizations derived from empirical work, and to the operationalisation of its concepts in individual and classroom implementations (E. C. Cascallar and M. Boekaerts, 2006). Self-regulation is a complex construct to define and to operationalise. The various conceptualizations of self-regulation all presuppose a detailed accounting of many different components, each of them represented by a variety of proxy variables which can be measured to establish the appropriate level at which the individual or group in question is functioning or performing. These assessments involve an evaluative process in order to estimate the level of performance, achievement, or functioning, through a consistent methodology that rigorously estimates and scales individual or group results based on predetermined standards or on normative performance data. In recent years technology has had an enormous impact in improving both the quality and the utility of assessment. New technology-driven infrastructures have contributed to the quality of assessment systems. These technologies, and the conceptual advances they have enabled, have been instrumental in increasing the potential for new feasible designs of instruments, programs, and applications. In the field of SRL, the use of these technologies, new statistical and modeling methodologies, and conceptual advances in the understanding of self-regulated learning, have all contributed to advances that have enriched and also changed this field of study. There is an extensive literature on SRL and its interactions with several environmental and student characteristics. Although several theoretical models have been developed, different authors have focused on several different dimensions or components. While most of them agree that SRL is a complex and dynamic interaction of cognitive, affective, social, and volitional processes in the service of one's own goals, the field is still lacking a unified perspective on these complex phenomena. Definitions of SRL as a relatively stable individual inclination have been shifting to other definitions of SRL as a complex process in situated learning conditions. Papers in this special issue share this last perspective considering multiple processes and their interrelations between student and task/context. Six papers contrast different theoretical and empirical frameworks and collectively show how new methodologies can address the complexities of the interactions of the variables involved. These papers either contribute to a better prediction and understanding of learning outcomes, or they focus on new integrative conceptualizations of the field. Thus, the purpose of this special issue is to consider new methodological and conceptual developments in the understanding of self-regulated learning in different domains such as: academic success, mathematical performance, and successful professional development.T. J. …