Primary school teachers’ teaching strategies that develop and enhance self-regulated learning

Abstract

Over the past two decades, many researchers have warned that the South African education crisis would result in high failure and dropout rates among learners in primary, secondary and higher education institutions. Researchers ascribe the dismal matric results to the education crisis in primary schools, where about 90% of learners in grades 3, 6 and 9 achieved less than 50% in the second Annual National Assessments in literacy, maths and science. In the summary report of the National Education Evaluation and Development Unit (NEEDU 2018), the South African school education crisis and underperformance in schools are ascribed to primary schools that have not received much attention during the education crisis in keeping up with education which is suitable for the twenty-first century and the Fourth Industrial Revolution. Many researchers believe that self-regulated learning (SRL) is fundamental in the development of lifelong learning, and as such it has developed globally into a vital role in academic learning. SRL in school environments increases success in problem-solving, academic achievement, intrinsic motivation, and task interest. Applying SRL strategies impacts a learner's academic achievement in addition to increasing their capacity to develop lifelong learning skills. SRL refers to ones' ability to understand and control one's learning environment, and it includes goal setting, self-monitoring, self-instruction, and self-evaluation. The main purpose of this study was to explore what teaching strategies intermediate phase teachers use that develop and enhance SRL. This study further explored intermediate phase teachers' knowledge and beliefs about SRL as well as how the school management team (SMT) supports primary teachers in their attempts to develop and enhance SRL. For the purpose of this study, a literature review was conducted to find relevant literature about the problem investigated, and therefore social cognitive self-regulation theorists were reviewed. Zimmerman and Moylan's (2009) model of SRL was used to highlight SRL skills teachers use to develop learners' SRL skills. The study is located within an interpretivist philosophical orientation. The empirical inquiry was approached with a qualitative research design in the form of a phenomenological study to explore what teaching strategies teachers use to develop SRL. The phenomenological study enabled the researcher to explore a real-life situation and the experiences teachers encounter in their daily teaching and learning in the classroom and to develop a composite description of the essence of the individuals' experiences. Data was collected through semi-structured interviews. Three

primary schools and 15 teachers were conveniently and purposely sampled to participate in the study. Data was analysed through a thematic approach. The findings of this research revealed that even though participants do not seem to have theoretical knowledge of the concept SRL, their beliefs about teaching and their attitudes about what the aim of teaching should be, as well as their knowledge and practical implementation of the Curriculum and Assessment Policy Statements (CAPS), contributes to the positive beliefs they have about the value of SRL skills. The SRL strategies that are mostly used by the participants are task strategies, time management, goal-setting, group work, self-observation, help-seeking, and environmental structuring. However, the participants did not suggest methods for how to develop imagery to intensify learning and improve memorisation skills and metacognitive self-monitoring, where learners can self-monitor and track their progress and learning outcomes, how to deal with learners that display adaptive or defensive behaviour, or how to teach learners to set short and long-term goals. The participants also revealed that they experience challenges such as overcrowding, time management, insufficient teaching and learning resources, lack of parental involvement, and not being trained and developed on SRL by the SMT and the Department of Basic Education (DBE). It is recommended that teachers should be trained on a regular basis on SRL, and furthermore, the schools should design a learning, teaching and support materials (LTSM) retrieval policy that is functional to ensure that the learning resources are monitored and controlled effectively. The Department of Education (DoE) must also reassess the time allocated to the topics in subjects to ensure that teachers have time available to cover all the requirements of the National Curriculum Statement curriculum. Furthermore, teachers need to be trained on how to support progressed learners and ensure that they achieve their goals. SRL skills of particular importance for teachers to develop are how to develop metacognitive self-monitoring, how to develop metacognitive modelling, how to deal with learners that display adaptive or defensive behaviour, and how to teach learners to set short and long-term goals.