Strategies for the development of self–regulated learning skills of first year university students

Abstract

The high dropout rate of first year students is a major source of concern for the Department of Higher Education and Training and for Higher Education Institutions (HEI’s). Research indicated that students’ Self-Regulated Learning (SRL) skills and strategies play a significant role in achieving academic success at universities. Thus, the main aim of this study was to develop strategies for the development of SRL skills of first year university students. In order to achieve the research aim and objectives an extensive literature review was conducted on SRL and the relationship between SRL skills and the academic achievement of students at HEI’s. For the purposes of the empirical investigation, a mixed-method approach was followed. In the quantitative part of the investigation, the results of the Learning and Study Strategies Inventory (LASSI), which was administered to the 2007 cohort of first year students (n=2421) at the Potchefstroom Campus of the North-West University, were analysed to determine whether the subscales in the LASSI significantly predicted academic success and to identify variables that related to the first year students’ learning and study skills and academic achievement. In the qualitative part of the research, interviews were conducted during 2010, with a selected group of participants from the 2007 cohort of first year students who were then in their fourth year of study. The questions in the interviews were based on questions in the Self-Regulated Learning Inventory Schedule (SRLIS), and the aims were to explore the participants’ experiences with their studies and to determine which SRL skills, in addition to the skills assessed by the LASSI, influenced their studies and academic achievement. The quantitative analysis of the LASSI results revealed that: • Motivation, Time management and Information processing were the best LASSI predictors of the first year students’ academic success. • The independent biographical variables Grade 12 marks, age and gender correlated better with the first year students’ academic achievement than the LASSI subscales did. The qualitative investigation revealed that: • Successful students realised at the onset of their studies that they had to adapt their study methods to meet the challenges that studying at a university requires. • Successful students could differentiate between the different types of study material and could adapt their study methods accordingly. They could also adapt their study methods when the volume of the study material differed. • Successful students applied a repertoire of study methods in a flexible manner, and managed their time well. • Successful students conveyed knowledge of themselves as students, as well as of the different requirements that study at a university implicates. • Most of the successful students received information from parents, lecturers or principals about different study methods and could describe their learning styles and preferences clearly. • Some of the successful students could accurately infer which questions could be expected in the exam papers, and knew how and why these questions were asked. • Successful students set realistic academic goals for themselves. • Unsuccessful students did not consider their own study preferences or the academic requirements of the university. • Unsuccessful students did not manage their time well and were not motivated. On the basis of the findings, strategies were proposed for the development of SRL skills of first year students at universities. The strategies are presented as a compulsory programme that first year students have to complete in the first semester.