For example, the author's research (Pintrich, 2000) shows that there is a positive correlation between selfregulated
learning and a student´s level of self-efficacy. Students, who are convinced about their qualities and skills,
more often use strategies to regulate their own learning than students who are deemed to be incompetent.
Furthermore, the research shows that there is a reciprocal link between self-regulated learning and student´s task
value belief. Students who perceived a certain object as interesting, important and useful used more often selfregulatory
strategies. They also found that students who focus on the learning processes, referred to as mastery goal
oriented learners tend to be self-regulated students as opposed to those who only focus on the result of the activity,
i.e. performance goal oriented learners.
One of the leading authors in this area, Monique Boekaerts (2002), deals with the diversity of self-regulation and
self-control. The author draws on ideas from Kuhl and Fuhrmann (1998), who pointed out that students who use
self-regulatory strategies (e.g. regulate attention, motivation, will and emotions), purse their own goals by activating
a self-rewarding system. In contrast, students who use self-control, follow a set of pre-established goals that are
consistent with their personal beliefs, and therefore use a system of penalties. Other studies also show that the
process of self-regulated learning is associated with positive emotions. Both processes are controlled by entity, but
only the process of self-regulated learning is associated with intrinsic motivation.
According to Boekaerts (2005), initial motivation plays a central role in the process of self-regulated learning.
The author believes that students invest time and effort to study hard because it's personally important to them. Their
effort is in accordance with their subjective theories. However, it raises the question whether and how the teacher
can affect the development of self-regulated learning and if it is inconsistent with student's academic self-concept.
Self-regulated learning is not viewed as a unitary construct, but refers to a system concept that integrates activity in
different control systems (Boekaerts & Niemivirta, 2005). A considerable amount of interrelated processes of selfregulated
learning have been differentiated, involving motivation control, metacognitive control, action control, and
emotion control. This analytical dissolution into different forms of control allowed to focus on particular aspects of
self-regulation.
Zimmerman and Schunk (1989) described self-regulated learning as students´ self-generated feelings, thoughts,
and actions, which are systematically directed to achieve their goals. The theoretical basis of Zimmerman's cyclical
model of self-regulation is to be found in the social cognitive theory based on the work of Albert Bandura. This
model looks at self-regulation as the interaction of an individual's personality, his/her behavior (i.e., motivational,
cognitive and affective components) and the external environment. Unlike behaviorism, which emphasized the
influence of the environment on human behavior, the social cognitive theory sees the causes of human behavior in
the so-called reciprocal determinism. This means that the behavior of the biological and internal layout of the
individual and the external environment are interact. In other words, self-regulation is viewed as an interaction of
personal, behavioral and environmental triadic processes (Zimmerman, 2005). An important issue is to find out how
these processes are structurally interrelated and cyclically permanent.
From this point of view, self-regulated processes fall into three cyclical phases: forethought, performance or
volitional control, and self-reflection (Zimmerman, 2005). According to the author, in the first phase, which takes
place prior to the activity, students analyze their learning task. An important role in its implementation is
represented by the students' motivational beliefs, perception of their own competence, goal orientation and interests.
The second phase is the actual activity in which students regulate and manage their learning process, i.e. control and
observe themselves in the activity. Further, they instruct and regulate their imagination and try to regulate their
attention and study efforts. The third phase of self-reflection takes place after the learning activities are completed
and concerns the response to the output. Students look at the learning experience, comparing its results with the
stated objectives and also, for example, trying to explain its success or failure.
Wine‘s (2010) conclusions on the recent advances on gathering data and measuring constructs that comprise selfregulated
learning are particularly relevant. According to the author, self-regulated learning is inherently contextual
and can be conceptualized in terms of events (i.e. context evolves as learners regulate learning). The author believes