The reciprocal relationship between motivation and self-regulation: A longitudinal study on academic performance

Abstract While previous studies have examined the single directional effects of motivation constructs in influencing students' use of self-regulatory strategies, few attempts have been made to unravel their interrelationship in a unified framework. In this study we adopt the social cognitive perspective and examine the reciprocal interplay between motivation and self-regulation constructs (as measured by the Learning and Study Strategies Inventory) in influencing academic performance. Based on two waves of measurements obtained from a large sample of undergraduates from a university in Hong Kong, a cross-lagged structural equation model identified significant reciprocal effects whereby students' self-regulation predicted their subsequent motivation. After controlling for prior academic achievement, student motivation was also found to be the strongest predictor of academic performance. The findings from this study have major implications for the importance placed on motivation and self-regulation as means of facilitating academic success.

[1]  James C. Anderson,et al.  STRUCTURAL EQUATION MODELING IN PRACTICE: A REVIEW AND RECOMMENDED TWO-STEP APPROACH , 1988 .

[2]  F. Weinert,et al.  Metacognition, motivation, and understanding , 1987 .

[3]  Barbara L. McCombs,et al.  Processes and skills underlying continuing intrinsic motivation to learn: Toward a definition of motivational skills training interventions , 1984 .

[4]  P. Pintrich,et al.  Students' motivational beliefs and their cognitive engagement in classroom academic tasks. , 1992 .

[5]  Philip H. Winne,et al.  Studying as self-regulated learning. , 1998 .

[6]  D. Schunk.  Social Cognitive Theory and Self-Regulated Learning , 1989 .

[7]  D. Schunk.  Self-Efficacy Perspective On Achievement Behavior , 1984 .

[8]  B. Zimmerman,et al.  Self-regulated learning and academic achievement : theoretical perspectives , 2001 .

[9]  Elizabeth A. Linnenbrink,et al.  Achievement Goal Theory and Affect: An Asymmetrical Bidirectional Model , 2002 .

[10]  Philip H. Winne,et al.  Measuring Self-Regulated Learning , 2000 .

[11]  F. Marton,et al.  ON QUALITATIVE DIFFERENCES IN LEARNING—II OUTCOME AS A FUNCTION OF THE LEARNER'S CONCEPTION OF THE TASK , 1976 .

[12]  B. Zimmerman.  Investigating Self-Regulation and Motivation: Historical Background, Methodological Developments, and Future Prospects , 2008, American Educational Research Journal.

[13]  E. Salas,et al.  Application of cognitive, skill-based, and affective theories of learning outcomes to new methods of training evaluation. , 1993 .

[14]  Frank M. Pajares,et al.  Self-efficacy beliefs of adolescents , 2006 .

[15]  J. Hair.  Multivariate data analysis , 1972 .

[16]  P. Pintrich,et al.  Motivation in Education: Theory, Research, and Applications , 1995 .

[17]  A. Bandura.  Social learning theory , 1977 .

[18]  P. Pintrich,et al.  Reliability and Predictive Validity of the Motivated Strategies for Learning Questionnaire (Mslq) , 1993 .

[19]  P. Pintrich.  A Conceptual Framework for Assessing Motivation and Self-Regulated Learning in College Students , 2004 .

[20]  B. Zimmerman,et al.  Self-regulated learning and academic achievement: Theory, research, and practice. , 1989 .

[21]  C. Wolters.  Self-Regulated Learning and College Students' Regulation of Motivation. , 1998 .

[22]  N. Entwistle,et al.  Understanding Student Learning , 1983 .

[23]  A. Brown.  Metacognition, executive control, self-regulation, and other more mysterious mechanisms , 1987 .

[24]  B. Zimmerman.  Theories of Self-Regulated Learning and Academic Achievement: An Overview and Analysis , 2001 .

[25]  F. Marton,et al.  ON QUALITATIVE DIFFERENCES IN LEARNING: I—OUTCOME AND PROCESS* , 1976 .

[26]  Andrew J. Martin,et al.  The causal ordering of self-concept and academic motivation and its effect on academic achievement , 2006 .

[27]  P. Pintrich,et al.  Handbook of self-regulation , 2000 .

[28]  H. Marsh,et al.  Assessing Goodness of Fit: Is Parsimony Always Desirable? , 1996 .

[29]  Mark W. Johnston,et al.  Analysis of role conflict and role ambiguity in a structural equations framework , 1990 .

[30]  C. Fornell,et al.  Evaluating structural equation models with unobservable variables and measurement error. , 1981 .

[31]  L. Corno,et al.  Self-Regulated Learning: A Volitional Analysis , 1989 .

[32]  Lieven Verschaffel,et al.  Powerful learning environments : unravelling basic components and dimensions , 2003 .

[33]  Douglas J. Hacker,et al.  Metacognition in educational theory and practice. , 1998 .

[34]  Velda McCune,et al.  Investigating ways of enhancing university teaching-learning environments: Measuring students' approaches to studying and perceptions of teaching , 2003 .

[35]  J. Flavell.  Metacognition and Cognitive Monitoring: A New Area of Cognitive-Developmental Inquiry. , 1979 .