Teacher feedback and students’ self-regulated learning in mathematics: A comparison between a high-achieving and a low-achieving secondary schools

Abstract

This study compared teacher’s feedback and students’ self-regulated learning (SRL) in mathematics and the relationship between them in a high- and a low-achieving secondary school. A total of 1282 secondary students participated in this study, 652 and 630 from the high- and the low-achieving school, respectively. The results of t-tests indicated that teachers at the high-achieving school compared to teachers at the low-achieving school provided more praise and more verification, directive, and scaffolding feedback but less criticism. Students at the high-achieving school reported using more SRL strategies and having greater motivation in mathematics than those at the low-achieving school. Two-group structural equation modelling indicated that merely verification feedback and teacher’s praise had positive relationships with high-achieving school students’ SRL, whereas scaffolding feedback, teacher’s praise, and criticism had positive relationships with low-achieving school students’ SRL. Particularly, directive feedback had more negative correlations with students’ SRL at the low-achieving school than at the high-achieving school.