ABSTRACT
The topic of self-regulation of learning has attracted the attention of diverse audiences because of widespread concerns about students’ daily struggles to attain academic competence and control. Underachievement in school has often been ascribed to a lack of self-regulation, and there is evidence that procrastination leads to low levels of learning and performance and to high levels of dissatisfaction and stress (Schmitz & Wiese, 2006). However, self-regulation has proven to be an elusive construct. Although teachers and parents typically view students’ self-regulation of learning (SRL) as an ability to function academically on their own, researchers seek also to understand where, how, and why some students self-regulate and others do not. The where question deals with the performance and task context whereas the how question deals with the metacognitive aspects of SRL. The why question focuses on the motivational aspects of selfregulation, and it is the focus of this chapter.
