THE RELATION BETWEEN DISTANCE STUDENTS' MOTIVATION, THEIR USE OF LEARNING STRATEGIES, AND ACADEMIC SUCCESS

The aim of this study was to discover possible relationships between self-regulated learning dimensions and students' success in a distance-learning programme. The sample consisted of 319 students: 83 males and 236 females. They completed the 'Motivated Strategies for Learning Questionnaire' (Pintrich, Smith, Garcia & McKeachie, 1991), which was compared to their number of exams written, frequency of exam repetition and average course grade. The results show the importance of motivational factors, such as intrinsic goal orientation, Theory and research on self-regulated learning (SRL) extend into the 1980s, when researchers dealt with the issue of how students can self-monitor, guide and manage their learning process. Self-regulated learning is a complex construct located at the intersection of many areas of psychological research, such as motivation, thought processes and metacognition. Over the last three decades, the study of SRL has mostly focused on the impact of learning strategies on learning achievement (Brown & Smiley, 1978; Pask, 1976). These early studies have showed that students who were trained to use learning strategies showed substantial improvement in their academic performance. They also discovered that, soon after the training finished, students stopped using learning strategies. Consequently, researchers realised the necessity to consider other reasons for the failure of pupils in the independent use of these strategies in different situations. First, theorists began to focus on the concept of metacognition, defining it as the executive control process that includes planning, monitoring and control of cognitive strategies (Brown & Smiley, 1978). Another branch of research focused on a more affective aspect of learning—motivation. They tried to understand why, as opposed to just how, students are engaged in learning and the use of learning strategies. Based on these studies, some theorists realised that reasons for academic failure, besides not using cognitive strategies, may stem from individuals' feelings about themselves as a student or feelings about a particular learning task. In other words, motivation to learn was identified as the most important factor for the interpretation of individual achievement in the learning task. As the knowledge from different research fields and traditions in educational psychology were combined, a 'super theory' began to emerge in the form of the theory of SRL—nowadays, one of the most influential research theories in this field. Characteristics of Self-regulative Learners Before focusing further on the individual constituents of SRL, it is first necessary to ask what constitutes SRL and what characteristics are displayed by students who actively regulate their learning. Self-regulated learning is most commonly described as the level of metacognitive, motivational and behavioural activity in an individual's own learning process (Zimmerman, 2002, 1900). Students who actively regulate their learning often use different cognitive and metacognitive strategies that are systematically directed towards the achievement of learning goals (Corno & Mandinach, 1983; Pintrich & De Groot, 1990). They also use strategies to regulate other sources of learning such as adaptation of certain aspects of the physical environment and the organisation of time to learn so that they do become most efficient. Important components of SRL strategies are based on the regulation of learning and teaching environment. This group includes strategies such as organisation of time, effort control and regulation of physical learning environment (Pintrich & Garcia, 1991). It is also more likely that when they will find themselves in learning difficulties that they will seek help from teachers or classmates. (Pintrich & Garcia, 1991; Zimmerman & Martinez-Pons, 1988). Finally, students who self-regulate their learning have higher levels of self-efficacy, are confident in their abilities (positive attributions) and more internally motivated (Pintrich & Garcia, 1991; Zimmerman & Martinez-Pons, 1988). Zimmerman (1990) claimed that SRL is derived from a student's own thoughts, feelings and behaviour directed towards achieving set targets. Research on SRL confirms that learning achievements are improved when students are active while learning (Ames, 1984; Dweck, 1986). Hence, it can be concluded that students who tend to regulate their learning are usually more successful than those who do not (Zimmerman & Martinez-Pons, 1988).