Despite the appeal of self-regulation as a construct, it is important to recognise some basic
assumptions underlying its use. While it is assumed that students can self-regulate internal
states and behaviour as well as some aspects of the environment, this does not mean that the
student always has full control. Learning tasks set by teachers, marking regimes and other
course requirements are not under students’ control even though students still have latitude to
self-regulate within such constraints. Also, students often learn in implicit or unintentional
ways without explicit regulation (e.g. aspects of some skills such as reading are automated