Teachers’ and Students’ Belief Systems About the Self-Regulation of Learning: Matters for challenge

Contemporary theories of learning and instruction emphasise the importance of students knowing how to effectively regulate their learning. A large body of research indicates that effective regulation of learning is beneficial for achievement. Set against this research are findings showing that the promotion by teachers of strategies for the self-regulation of learning (SRL), and student use of these strategies, is less common than might be expected. We review this research on the promotion and use of SRL strategies and suggest that a range of beliefs about learning and SRL strategies limit the promotion of SRL learning strategies by teachers. This contributes in turn to the lack of knowledge and use of such strategies by students. These beliefs are represented as forming an interrelated system that needs to be made explicit and examined in order to increase the level of SRL strategy promotion and use. Each of the beliefs is described and the paper concludes with discussion of the implications of the review for teacher educators, teachers, students, school leaders, curriculum designers and researchers.