Chinese College Students’ Use of Self-regulated Learning Strategies in Online General Education Courses

Abstract

With the popularity of online general education in China, there appeared a common concern that students may not be motivated enough to self-regulate when learning general education courses online, which may cause unsatisfactory learning outcomes. To better understand how students self-regulated learning (SRL) in general education courses when adapting to an online learning environment, we conducted a two-stage survey (N = 163) on students in general education courses in social science discipline. Three typical SRL profiles were identified: (1) The high SRL profile who were highly self-regulated; (2) The low effort profile who were overall highly self-regulated but use less Peer Learning and put low effort into learning; and (3) The low SRL profile who were overall less self-regulated. The former two profiles had significantly higher perceived gain and satisfaction than the latter. Value and expectancy components of motivation, self-discipline, platform functions and supplementary reading facilitated overall use of SRL strategies, while test anxiety reduced students’ use of Peer Learning and Effort Regulation. These findings revealed the current status and possible causes of Chinese students' SRL in online general education courses, and provided implications for improving online general education.

Keywords: Self-regulated learning, General education, Online learning, Learning profile

DOI: 10.54941/ahfe1005389