Predictive Relationships between Secondary School Students' Human Values, Motivational Beliefs, and Self-Regulated Learning Strategies

Abstract

AbstractThe purpose of this study was to investigate the exploratory and predictive relationships between secondary school students' human values and their motivational beliefs and self-regulated learning strategies and thus to test the relevant model was developed. A correlational filed study was used in this research. The sample of the research consisted of a total of 794 students studying at six different secondary schools in Istanbul. Research data were collected by Values Scale and the Motivated Strategies for Learning Questionnaire. The exploratory relationships between secondary school students' human values, motivational beliefs, and self-regulated learning strategies were analyzed using the software AMOS 16 following the Structural Equation Modelling. Results indicated that human values were significant predictor of motivational beliefs and motivational beliefs were significant predictor of self-regulated learning strategies. Also, the study results indicated that human values were not significant predictor of self-regulated learning strategies, but had an indirect effect on self-regulated learning via motivational beliefs. These results revealed that the values were important variables that effect on students' learning and motivationKey WordsSecondary School Students, Human Values, Motivational Beliefs, Self-Regulated Learning Strategies.In the past few years, the concept of self-regulated learning has been the focus of education research and applications. The main reason for this is because self-regulated learning is an important variable affecting academic performance and success in class (Pintrich & De Groot, 1990). According to Zimmerman (2002), the success of students can be explained by their being active in their learning cognitively, motivationally and behaviorally. In this process however, the role of utilization capacity of self-regulation strategies and motivational beliefs, both of which form the dimensions of self-regulated learning is important. Research results put forth that despite their emphasis on the importance of developing students' self-regulation skills, few teachers encourage their students to be active in their learning (Zimmerman, Bonner, & Kovach, 1996).Effeney (2011) stresses in his study that motivation decreases with age and that this causes negative effects on self-regulation especially in the adolescence period. Since adolescence, which is one of the important stages of development, is associated with many emotional and behavioral difficulties (Celik, Tahiroglu, & Avci, 2008), it is thought that conducting research for the development of students' self-regulation especially in this phase is important. For this purpose, in order to increase students' learning capacity, it is possible to say that the determination of individual factors which may affect their self-regulated learning is important. In their study on adolescents, Pintrich, Roeser, and De Groot (1994) establish that the individual differences between students are influential on selfregulation strategies and motivational beliefs. It is thought that values are one of the individual factors which may be influential on students' motivational beliefs and self-regulation strategies. This is because the adolescent phase is a phase during which individuals become aware of their personal values. The need to pass on values by allowing adolescents to see the inconsistencies in their ideas and the disagreements between their ideas is emphasized. In this sense, it is stated that the most significant moral behavioral characteristic of the adolescent phase is self-direction skills (Koc, 2004). However, the absence in books and articles of a research putting forth the relations between the values directing the individual's behaviors and the motivational strategies and self-regulation, which are the determinant of success, draw attention. It is thought that emphasizing the role of values in students' self-regulated learning will make significant contributions to increasing students' success. …