CHAPTER 4 DATA ANALYSIS AND INTERPRETATION
4.3 DISCUSSION AND ANALYSIS OF QUALITATIVE DATA
4.3.1 Theme 1 – Knowledge and beliefs of SRL
The main theme created relates to the participants’ knowledge and beliefs of SRL. Five sub- themes that give insight to participants knowledge and beliefs of SRL were created. The five sub- themes are: familiarity with concept self-regulated learning, participants’ comprehension of the concept self-regulated learning, the value of SRL for academic learning, instruction to utilise and develop self-regulated learning, and the roles of teachers to develop and enhance self-regulated learning. The following is a discussion about the responses from which the data was generated to interpret participants’ knowledge about the concept of SRL.
4.3.1.1 Sub-theme 1: Familiarity with concept self-regulated learning
In this study, of the 15 participants, only four (P1S1, P3S1, P1S2, P2S2) indicated that they were familiar with the concept of SRL.
The following are descriptions of how participants responded when asked whether they were familiar with the concept of SRL.
Four participants indicated that they became familiar with the concept during workshops. One participant explained:
Yes I came across this strategy during the workshops that I attended (P1S1)
Six other participants (P1S1, P4S1, P3S1, P4S1, P5S2, P4S3) responded that they had not heard of or had no knowledge of SRL. One participant stated:
No, I do not know anything about self-regulated learning, or even heard about it (P4S1).
Five other participants (P1S1, P2S1, P5S1, P3S2, P3S3) were unsure of whether they knew about SRL, as with one participant that revealed:
I think self-regulated is when learners push themselves. Self-regulated learning is when you are able to study on your own, independent studying, I can put it that way (P3S2)
The participants’ responses indicated that most of them were not aware of the concept of SRL.
Zimmerman (2000:16) states that when teachers are not aware of SRL, it can be one factor that prevents them from developing SRL skills in their learners. If teachers are aware of self-regulation, they are going to be aware of the level of SRL skills in learners. Teachers with knowledge of SRL can plan their work effectively and are aware of what teaching and learning strategies they can use when presenting lessons (cf Effeney et al., 2013:59).
4.3.1.2 Sub-theme 2: Participants’ comprehension of the concept self-regulated learning The participants who demonstrated an understanding of SRL described it as a process or strategy that learners use when they learn. The participants described the concept as the behaviour self- regulated learners display when they learn. The following are how the participants explained their understanding of SRL:
Self-regulated learning is to have control, you take responsibility of your work, and you set goals… (P1S3)
Yes, teaching self-regulation in the classroom is important because the emotions and cognitive areas of the brain may not reach the full potential if children do not continually practice at young age. Self-regulated learning helps to support the children ability to handle their emotions and reactions to new situations. (P2S3)
…Self-regulated learning is about/starts from babies to toddlers, pre-school years, adulthood. It is s lifelong learning whereby you are able to monitor the emotional state of learners, e.g. frustrations, whether they are coping or not. (P3S1)
The participants’ responses indicate that some of the participants have a general and minimal understanding of the concept of SRL. This finding corroborates that of Geduld (2019:61), who found that teachers’ knowledge, perceptions and beliefs about SRL and their current teaching efforts directed at developing SRL is vague and unclear to the teachers. The study of Geduld (2019) also revealed that despite teachers’ positive beliefs about SRL, they, especially the inexperienced teachers, do not have a sufficiently broad knowledge of how to foster SRL.
Teachers generally accept the important role they play in learners’ self-regulatory activities; they often do not know how to teach self-regulatory skills or how to enhance learners’ use of self- regulation principles in the classroom (cf Panadero & AlonsoTapia, 2014:451; Carmo, 1989:112).
4.3.1.3 Sub-theme 3: Value of SRL for academic learning
The following are responses of some of the participants on the worth of SRL for academic value and whether teachers have a role to play or not in the development of learners’ self-regulated learning:
I think so because things are moving, we are in the 21st century, during lockdown we needed self-regulated learners because they were staying at home, it invited or needed those methods, because when learners are studying from home they need to be independent, they were supposed to do everything at home and submit online, that requires SRL (P3S3)
….if you can see the world outside now, needs people who are motivated and do things on their own (P3S2)
Learners should be made more interested in what I’m teaching, they must be inquisitive, I must push them and give them ideas that there is more to what I’m teaching them(P5S2)
The responses revealed that participants believe SRL is valuable for the development of confident, knowledgeable learners as required in the 21st century as well as for their academic achievement. Participants agreed SRL allows learners to stand on their own and work independently.
Participants’ views are supported by Fayombo, (2015:48), who mentions that learners of all ages can successfully apply SRL strategies when offered the opportunity to do so. Primary school teachers should therefore move away from a position in which learners are dependent on them for knowledge. The participants also indicated that teachers should play a crucial role in guiding learners properly and avoid frustrating learners:
Teachers should prepare their lessons because there are learners who are a step ahead and can embarrass them if they did not properly plan their lesson. Some learners can even correct teachers. Teachers should play a role to guide learners properly and avoid frustrating them (P5S1)
Their views are also supported by Bandura (2015:1031), who states that teachers who use SRL teaching strategies not only have a positive impact on learners’ academic achievement but also increase their capacity to develop lifelong learning skills.
4.3.1.4 Sub-theme 4: Instruction to utilise and develop self-regulated learning
Training plays an important role in the teaching career for SRL skills to be developed effectively because not only does it help learners improve their academic performance but it also eradicates any misconceptions teachers might have about SRL. When teachers receive training, their pedagogical and practical knowledge on how to use SRL in their own teaching strategies and develop SRL in their learners are most effective. Geduld (2017:144) argues that if teachers lack pedagogical knowledge of SRL, it will be difficult for them to develop their learners’ SRL.
This is how participants responded when asked if they had practical or theoretical knowledge on how to develop SRL in learners:
There was no training that I received on self-regulated learning; it is the teacher who must take an initiative by learning more, going to the internet on what strategies to use when I teach learners (P5S2)
No, the curriculum we did that time was different from the one we are doing now but I must say we also like learners to work on their own, to be independent and not always do everything for them (P4S2)
No, I was trained on how to teach learners using different teaching strategies and methods, but nothing on self-regulated learning (P2S2, P5S3)
Not anything I can remember (P3S2, P2S3, P1S2, P4S3, P4S1, P3S3, and P2S1) Only two participants indicated that they received some information on how to develop and enhance learners’ SRL.
I can say truly speaking, I learned about self-regulated learning when I was doing my certificate, when I was furthering my studies (P1S3)
There were some few modules when I was training as a teacher that taught us that learners should be taught to stand on their own, they should own learning and take responsibility, and they should not depend on the teacher. Teachers should promote abstract thinking (P1S1)
The subtheme revealed that the majority of the participants did not receive training on how to develop and enhance SRL during their training as teachers or at the workshops they have attended that were conducted by the DoE. This finding is also supported by Geduld (2019:72), factors like teachers’
educational beliefs and educational programmes that focus more on content-area knowledge and mastery of pedagogical methods than on principles of learning, development and, motivation.
4.3.1.5 Sub-theme 5: The roles of teachers to develop and enhance self-regulated learning
Teachers play a crucial role in the development of SRL in their classrooms as they interact with learners. The following are perspectives teachers have on their roles in developing SRL in their learners:
The role that the teacher can play is to teach learners that they can do things without teachers, motivate learners to be self-centred (P4S1)
We as teachers need to start preparing learners to start doing things on their own because the world outside need people who do things on their own (P3S1)
Learners should be more interested in what I’m teaching, they must be inquisitive, I must push them and give them ideas that there is more to what I’m teaching them (P5S2)
The participants also indicated that it is their responsibility to motivate and encourage learners to take responsibility for their own learning.
Teachers need to praise learners once they have done well. Even if they have made incorrect things, they need to be praised and be appreciated for what they have done. This will make them to always be willing to work harder (P1S1)
I think if I see a child in class that has potential, I think you should really work with them individually, you tell the child that you are able to get the answer; I would like you to find the answer. So encourage them to work on their own, and come and ask for help and encourage them, praise them a lot (P4S2)
Teachers must give high-quality feedback information to learners and we must recognise the ability of learners when they have achieved or when they have done something good you must give them some reward to motivate learners, to work hard, to be creative (P1S3)
Before we are teachers in front of the kids, we are parents, we are role models;
there are things that they see in us, they want to be like us when they grow up, if
we speak to them with respect, if we treat them with respect, we should push them in the right direction… (P5S3)
Analysing the responses from the participants showed that most of the teachers are aware of their responsibility to foster learners’ SRL skills. Most participants explained the role of the teacher as one of guidance, facilitation, mentoring, supervision, acting as a role model, encouragement, giving direction, and monitoring the progress of learners (Clark & Zimmerman, 2014:48;
Panadero& Alonso-Tapia, 2014:450). The role of teachers is to support and teach learners to acquire SRL skills gain the confidence to apply those SRL skills in their daily life activities.
Teachers should structure the learning situation in a way that will give students opportunities to discover their potential and the strategic procedures for themselves (cf. Dignath van Ewijk & Van der Werf, 2016:2; Ganada & Boruchovitch, 2018:12).
Despite that not all the participants received training and possessed a broad knowledge of the concept of SRL, they still indicated that SRL is a good skill that can promote learners’ academic progress, although time and fully resourced classrooms are a necessity for effective SRL (cf Ariani, 2017:64; Bembenutty, 2015:14).
The above is evidence of the crucial role that teachers play in developing SRL skills in the classroom.
4.3.2 Theme 2: Knowledge and beliefs of how self-regulated learning is developed