Nurturing self-regulating learning Development, measurement, and support in elementary education

Self-regulated learning (SRL) refers to learners setting goals and actively managing their cognition, emotion, motivation, and behavior to achieve them. SRL benefits academic performance and lifelong learning, making it a key educational goal—especially in elementary education, where SRL skills are still developing and malleable. This dissertation addresses SRL from three angles: development, measurement, and support.
First, a meta-review (Chapter 2) charted the development of self-regulation from infancy to adolescence. It highlighted how social agents (e.g., parents, teachers, peers) shape children’s self-regulatory abilities and motivation through two pathways: by teaching skills and influencing goals. These insights underline the importance of aligning SRL support with children's developmental stage and motivations.
Second, Chapter 3 introduced the CEMOR questionnaire to measure cognitive, emotional, and motivational aspects of SRL in task-specific contexts. The tool showed good reliability and validity, offering educators and researchers a practical way to assess SRL and tailor interventions.
Third, Chapters 4 and 5 explored SRL support strategies. Chapter 4 examined how teachers adapted SRL support during COVID-19, revealing a reliance on indirect strategies and the vital role of parents. Chapter 5 investigated self-assessment as an SRL tool. While combining process- and product-oriented self-assessment improved accuracy, it did not directly enhance SRL behaviors, suggesting that additional scaffolding is needed.
Chapter 6 integrates these findings and emphasizes the importance of developmental alignment, contextual sensitivity, and social support in nurturing SRL in elementary education.