What Are Self-Regulation Skills?

Students actively use self-regulation skills throughout a cyclical learning process (before, during, and after learning) to regulate their behaviour, thoughts and feelings in order to achieve their learning goals. 

Self-regulation is a set of strategies that help students take control of their learning process, comprising three components: cognitive, metacognitive, and motivational skills. These skills can be incorporated into a three-phase structure in which students regulate their learning before, during, and after the act of learning.

Cognitive skills will help students process information and acquire knowledge. These skills include learning strategies, such as:

• organising, adapting or structuring information

• retrieving or applying prior knowledge

•  

  understanding and carrying out tasks 

   

Metacognitive skills will help students manage the (learning) process:

• before: goal-setting and planning
• during: self-monitoring and adjustment
• after: evaluation and reflection

Motivational skills help students find the energy to get started and see things through. While we try to actively motivate our students in our study programmes, they must also learn to motivate themselves and develop the skills to do so. For example:

• linking personal goals, interests or concerns to the learning activities
• having faith in themselves to handle the challenges during the (learning) process
• attributing achievements to one's own abilities
• handling challenges during the (learning) process
• recognising and regulating personal sources of encouragement and discouragement

It is tempting to think that students in higher education have fully developed their self-regulation skills or that they can acquire them unassisted. This is not the case. 

Acquiring self-regulation skills is a shared responsibility of the student, the lecturers, the study programme, and Ghent University's support services. 

It is tempting to think that students in higher education have fully developed their self-regulation skills or that they can acquire them unassisted. This is not the case. 

Acquiring self-regulation skills is a shared responsibility of the student, the lecturers, the study programme, and Ghent University's support services. 

Why Invest in Self-Regulation Skills?

An investment in or strengthening of students' self-regulation skills has various positive effects.

An initial positive effect is seen throughout the study programme:

• when lecturers actively regulate the learning process at the outset of the programme, students learn to take control of their learning process from the start. They will gradually take on more responsibility throughout the programme.

• students who consciously manage their learning process make better progress. Research has shown a strong correlation between a student's self-regulation skills and their learning achievements. Self-regulation also benefits a student's motivation to learn.

• various studies have shown that students who self-regulate feel better about themselves. Learning to plan and set personal goals positively impacts one's well-being. Some studies have linked self-regulation to improved social skills. 

• self-regulation skills can serve as a lever to reduce education inequality. They can help students compensate for cognitive challenges, learning disabilities, or other developmental disorders. 

Self-regulation skills, once acquired, can have a lasting positive impact:

• graduates need self-regulation skills to continue to impact and contribute to a fast-changing society. Self-regulation skills are required to recognise learning opportunities, manage one’s lifelong learning process, and keep learning. 

The Importance of Building/Scaffolding/Fading

An effective approach to fostering self-regulation skills requires a gradual build-up within the curriculum, moving from a learning process regulated by the lecturer to one regulated by the student. Initially, the lecturer provides students with stepping stones, or scaffolding, that gradually diminish (or fade) throughout the study programme. There is a gradual shift in responsibility from the lecturer to the student.

Research shows that scaffolding positively impacts students' learning achievements. It results in a clear increase in self-regulation skills and a stronger involvement, with students taking more charge of their learning process.

The table below makes scaffolding more concrete. It describes the four levels of self-regulation skill development as (1) observation, (2) imitation, (3) self-control, and (4) self-regulation (based on Zimmerman). For each level, we specify who is in charge, what the lecturer does, and what the student does:

Who regulates	Level	The Student…	The Lecturer…
Lecturer	Observation	observes, listens to the lecturer's explanation, and learns from the lecturer's example.	models and makes explicit; demonstrates a skill and makes explicit what they do or think
	Imitation	imitates a skill under supervision.	instructs, supports, encourages, and gives feedback.
Lecturer and Student Regulate Together	Self-Control	practices the skills independently in a controlled environment; applies the skills autonomously and demonstrates them in a controlled environment.	supports, gives feedback, stimulates, coaches and organises more autonomous and powerful learning environments.
Student	Self-Regulation	applies skills flexibly across various situations; applies the skills in authentic contexts.	offers challenging learning assignments and an authentic learning environment; is available, supports when asked.

Self-Regulation Skills at a Glance:

Let's Get Started

Analysis

If your study programme wants to invest in strengthening students' self-regulation skills, an important first step is to chart what is already being done. Make an inventory first. Where do students acquire cognitive, metacognitive and motivational skills, and how? Ideally, this exercise involves all stakeholders: lecturers, students, and the tutorial services.

It is important to consider which self-regulation skills are explicitly introduced and whether this is clear to students. At the outset, it is especially important to offer explicit support to help students acquire the knowledge and vocabulary needed to develop self-regulation skills. This lays the groundwork for students to apply self-regulation skills consciously and transfer them to other contexts, thereby increasing the impact of any subsequent support. Explicit support ensures that all students are on board and receive the same opportunities. It also boosts students' motivation to practise and apply their self-regulation skills.

 

Once you have charted everything, you can reflect on the following questions:

Does the study programme sufficiently foster self-regulation skills?

• Does this start explicitly from the very onset? 
• Which skills do we cover less thoroughly?

What is the average entry level for self-regulation skills? 

Is there a good build-up of self-regulation skills throughout the programme?

• Do we match the student's entry level from the start? 
• Is there a hitch in the build-up somewhere, given the levels of skill development? 
  • Do we skip steps?
  • Do we take all the necessary steps? 
• How do curricular and extracurricular initiatives align?   

Are we lacking programme-wide agreements? 

• Deadlines and feedback 
• Assignments and group work
• Acessibility and support
• ...

Draw clear conclusions from this analysis: is there room for improvement, and where can we act on it? 

Actions

The conclusions from the previous step can lead to a set of actions that will increase the focus on self-regulation skills.

Are there important programme-wide agreements we could make, for example, regarding email, organising group work, setting deadlines, and providing feedback? If so, a group of lecturers, students, the tutorial services, and other stakeholders should reach a shared set of decisions. 

• Discuss any thorny issues that might have arisen together. 
• Make clear agreements with this group that are endorsed by everyone. 
• Consider critically whether these agreements will foster self-regulation skills. 
• Clearly put these agreements in writing. 
• Distribute the agreements to everyone involved: lecturers, students, the tutorial services, and other stakeholders. Explain why you have reached these agreements and what impact you hope to achieve. 

If the study programme aims to build self-regulation skills throughout the curriculum and take action, it is important to identify existing opportunities to do so.

The spectrum below might offer inspiration in this respect. It ranges from a lecturer-regulated to a student-regulated learning process and takes into account the three sub-skills discussed above: motivational, cognitive, and metacognitive. 

Implement, Evaluate, Adjust

Draw up a clear action plan: who will do what, where, when, and how. 

Implement the actions and decide how you will evaluate them in light of potential adjustments. 

If you want to work on self-regulation skills and require support, please contact onderwijs@ugent.be.

References

Vrieling, E. (2014). Zelfgestuurd leren kun je niet zelfgestuurd leren. Tijdschrift voor Lerarenopleiders, 35(1), 15-28.

Peeters, J. (2022). Zelfregulerend leren. Hoe? Zo! Lannoo Campus.

Sins, P. (2023). Zelfregulerend leren gaat niet vanzelf maar hoe dan wel? Hogeschool Rotterdam Uitgeverij.

De Smul, M.(2019). It’s Not Only about the Teacher! Mapping and Fostering the School-Wide Implementation of Self-Regulated Learning in Primary Education. Doctoraatsproefschrift. Universiteit Gent.

Education Endowment Foundation. Teaching and Learning Toolkit. Geraadpleegd op 13 november 2025, van https://educationendowmentfoundation.org.uk/education-evidence/teaching-learning-toolkit

MacLeod, A.K., Coates, E. & Hetherton, J. Increasing Well-Being through Teaching Goal-Setting and Planning Skills: Results of a Brief Intervention. J Happiness Stud 9, 185–196 (2008). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10902-007-9057-2

van de Pol, J., Volman, M. & Beishuizen, J. Scaffolding in Teacher–Student Interaction: A Decade of Research. Educ Psychol Rev 22, 271–296 (2010). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10648-010-9127-6

Zimmerman, B.J.(2013). From Cognitive Modelling to Self-Regulation. A Social Cognitive Career Path. Educational Psychologist, 48(3), 135-147