Individual differences and learning : learning style, academic control beliefs and student self-evaluation as aspects of self-regulated learning

Cassidy, SF

Abstract

The thesis comprises a collection of ten published works in the field of
individual differences and student learning in a, mainly, higher education context
involving undergraduate student participants. The works revolve primarily around
three principal conceptual areas, identified within the field on the grounds of being
recognized mediators of learning and achievement - namely, learning style, academic
control beliefs and student self-evaluation.
Students' perceptions of themselves as learners, and their use of various
processes to regulate their learning, have been identified as critical factors in the
analyses of academic development and achievement. On the basis of this, the thesis
presents a programme of work concerned with establishing a clearer understanding of
the conceptualisation, measurement and pedagogical utility of learning style,
academic control beliefs, student peer assessment and student self-assessment. It is
argued that each of these constructs plays a major role in the development and
practice of student self-regulated learning (SRL).
SRL theory therefore provides the theoretical context which unifies and
integrates the principal research areas addressed in the thesis. Accordingly, learning
style, academic control beliefs and student self-evaluation are suggested as key
component processes of SRL. The study of SRL is increasingly being identified as
highly relevant to both research and practice-based pedagogy (e.g. Baumert et al.,
2000; Zimmerman & Schunk, 2001). It is therefore further suggested that the existing
conceptual bases of SRL may represent the foundations for the development of a
composite theory capable of characterising, and facilitating, translational modelling of
much of the work involving individual differences in learning.

Citation

Cassidy, S. Individual differences and learning : learning style, academic control beliefs and student self-evaluation as aspects of self-regulated learning. (Thesis). Salford : University of Salford

• Thesis Type: Thesis
• Deposit Date: Oct 3, 2012
• Award Date: Jan 1, 2009