Self-regulated learning, which includes the motivational, cognitive, metacognitive and behavioral aspects of learning, is emerging as the key approach to continued and efficient learning. Self-efficacy is a person’s belief in their ability to achieve a certain goal and plays an important role in the development of self-regulated learning. Particularly vulnerable are adolescents with specific learning difficulties (hereinafter SLDs) for whom the development of self-regulated learning is often challenging due to specific deficits in one or more domains of cognitive processing.
The main goal of this thesis is to study how self-regulated learning and self-efficacy are demonstrated in students with SLDs from 6th to 9th grade of mainstream primary school and in their peers without SLDs. Furthermore, the research aimed to determine the role of gender, grade and academic achievements in demonstrated self-regulated learning and perceived self-efficacy. It highlighted the connection between self-regulated learning and perceived self-efficacy, while also examining the differences between students with and without SLDs in both domains.
Data were obtained through the Motivated Strategies for Learning Questionnaire, which includes motivational, cognitive, metacognitive and behavioral strategies for self-regulated learning, as well as a self-efficacy scale. We combined descriptive and causal-non-experimental methods within a quantitative approach. The research was conducted on a sample of students from 6th to 9th grade (N = 97). Furthermore, we designed a subsample (N = 44) of equivalent pairs based on gender and grade. Each pair consisted of a student with SLDs and their peer without SLDs.
The results revealed that students from 6th to 9th grade generally demonstrate moderate to relatively high levels of self-regulated learning. Basic cognitive strategies, especially repetition, are more common than deep learning strategies, metacognitive strategies and resource strategies, all of which are demonstrated on a moderate level. Motivation and perceived self-efficacy are relatively high, with external motivation being the dominant one. Gender-based disparities were observed only in cognitive strategies, showing that girls more regularly employed strategies of repetition, elaboration and organization; gender did not affect any other aspects. Grade-related differences were noted in metacognitive strategies, resource management, effort regulation and motivation – younger students demonstrated a higher level of these components. Moreover, academic achievements were significantly linked to perceived self-efficacy and the chosen motivational and behavioral aspects of self-regulated learning. Students with higher self-efficacy used deep learning strategies and were more motivated. Lastly, the comparison of students with and without SLDs did not show any statistically significant differences, neither in self-regulated learning nor in perceived self-efficacy.
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