Perceptions of selected primary school teachers in Mpumalanga on self-regulated learning development

Abstract

The education crisis manifests in various ways, of which high failure rates and dropout in primary, secondary and tertiary education is most prevalent. It is presented that the development of self-regulated learning can alleviate the high failure rates experienced in many South African schools. Learners who are less self-regulated and do not develop self-regulation skills may experience problems with academic success. Learners, however, need effective models and teachers who do not only provide methods to learn and study, but who also empower learners to manage their learning by teaching them how to learn and how to regulate their behaviour and their environments. These models can be teachers. However, teachers should have self-directed learning skills themselves to support their learners to become self-regulated. The purpose of the research was to explore the perceptions of teachers on their own self-directed learning skills and the development of self-regulated learning skills in learners. Furthermore, one needs to consider contextual factors that can aid or hamper the development of self-regulated learning. These factors include the educational environment, the home environment, resources, parental involvement and socioeconomic circumstances. People often wrongly assume that learners in affluent schools are well-adjusted and academically strong learners, unaffected by contextual factors. Therefore, how teachers perceive contextual influences on the development of self-regulated learning skills are also explored in this study. A qualitative research design guided by an interpretivist philosophical orientation was utilised to explore teachers’ perceptions regarding how contextual factors and teachers’ self-directed learning skills influence the development of self-regulated skills of learners in the Mpumalanga region. The sample consisted of 11 primary school teachers from three different schools, of which one was a quintile 4-5 school and two were private schools. Sampling was random and purposive. Data were collected through open-ended questionnaires. The findings revealed that most of the participants were familiar with the concept of self-regulated learning and the strategies needed for implementation. Most participants were v confident with their own self-directed learning skills and abilities to develop self-regulated learning skills in their learners. Participants revealed that they are well supported in the schooling environment with the needed resources to assist in developing self-regulated learning skills. Contextual factors that aid the development of self-regulated learning are a supportive learning environment, both at school and at home, and also when parents are involved and learners are motivated to learn. On the other hand, contextual factors that hinder the development of self-regulated learning are especially unsupportive home environments with uninvolved parents and learners who are not motivated as a result of that. Even though the schools are affluent, supportive, well-organized and offer training and development to both teachers and learners, some households seem to be challenged and consist of worker class parents. These home environments in lower socioeconomic communities have an adverse effect on the development of self-regulated learning skills in some cases, making it difficult for teachers to develop self-regulated learning skills in learners. The fact that quintile 2-3 schools withdrew limited the comprehensive view of contextual factors that might affect the development of self-regulated learning and the perceptions of these teachers. The sample was also smaller than planned, but the fact that participants were widely selected in terms of experience and age gave a broad overview of teacher perceptions.