Examination of the Relationships between Fifth Graders' Self-Regulated Learning Strategies, Motivational Beliefs, Attitudes, and Achievement.

AbstractThe aim of current study was to examine predictor and explanatory relationships between fifth graders' self-regulated learning strategies, motivational beliefs, attitudes towards mathematics, and academic achievement. The study was conducted on a sample of 204 students studying in the primary schools of Afyonkarahisar province. Motivated Strategies for Learning Questionnaire (MSLQ) and Mathematics Attitude Scale (MTO) were used as data collection tools. In the current study, two different models were proposed. In first and second model, respectively, how motivational belief and self-regulated learning strategies explained the attitude and achievement was examined and how motivational beliefs explained self-regulated learning strategies. According to findings obtained from the study, metacognitive self-regulation, self-efficacy, task value, intrinsic goal orientation predicted the attitude towards mathematics, while self-efficacy and test anxiety predicted the achievement. However, task value, self-efficacy and intrinsic goal orientation predicted self-regulated learning strategies.Key WordsMotivational Beliefs, Self-regulated Learning, Metacognitive, Attitude, Primary Education.Self-regulation capacity, suggested first by Albert Bandura and, one of six principles that socio-cognitive theory based on, focus on considering one's competences and capacity about his/her behaviours (Bandura, 1982; Ciltas & Bektas, 2009; Senemoglu, 2009). An early definition about self-regulation was made in a symposium at the American Educational Research Education (Zimmerman, 1986, 2008). Systematic use of metacognitive, motivational and behavioral strategies in the course of time have been a key feature of self-regulation definition (Zimmerman, 1990, 2001). Self-regulation perspective has replaced the information processing perspective. Self-regulation including contextual, cognitive, motivational and affective factors suggests a much richer definition on learning (Biggs, 1993; Boekaerts & Niemivirta, 2000; Pintrich, 2000a, 2000b). In the literature, although self-regulated learning is dealt with differently by many scholars, it might be defined as an active and constructive process that learners set goals, monitor their learning and participate their learning cognitively, motivationally and metacognitively through controlling their motives and cognitions (Pintrich, 2000a; Schunk, 2005; Zimmerman, 1986, 1989). According to Zimmerman (1998), self-regulation is not a mental ability like intelligence or an academic skill like reading. Rather, it is a self-management process that students transform their mental ability to academic skill. In the study of Puustinen and Pulkkinen (2001), the researchers compare self-regulation models and researchers emphasizes self-regulated learning play an active role on students' own learning process in a behavioral, cognitive, and motivational way.In this process, self-regulatory learners use cognitive (rehearsal, elaboration, organization) metacognitive (planning, monitoring, regulation), and behavioral strategies (help setting, time and environment management etc.) and motivational elements have an important position in this process (self-efficacy, intrinsic and extrinsic goals, task value etc.). Cognitive strategies such as rehearsal, elaboration and organization make an active and a systematic information-processing through their own characteristic. Metacognition, defined variously as 'thoughts about thoughts' or 'awareness and control' of one's thoughts, is considered by many to be an essential component of skilled performance, influencing memory functions, learning and skill acquisition, and problem-solving (Hudlicka, 2005, p. 55). Metacognition consists of both metacognitive knowledge and cognitive experience. Metacognitive knowledge refers to the general knowledge that students have about their own or others' cognitive processes. This knowledge has been gained through experiences. …