Self-Regulated Learning and Academic Achievement among University Students in Online Learning Environments

Abstract

In developing countries, the underutilization of online education creates challenges for higher education, highlighting the need to enhance student engagement and self-regulation for better academic outcomes. Hence, this research aims to investigate the association between self-regulated learning (SRL) and the academic achievement of Universiti Tun Hussein Onn Malaysia (UTHM) students in online learning environments. Seven factors of SRL, including goal setting, self-evaluation, seeking assistance, environmental structuring, learning responsibility, and organizing, were considered in this research. Additionally, this study seeks to identify the differences in SRL strategies used by male and female students. For this study, 173 undergraduate students were selected from five programs under the Faculty of Technology Management and Business, UTHM, using proportionate stratified random sampling. The results revealed a positive but significant association between SRL and academic achievement. Furthermore, learning responsibility was found to have a negative correlation with students’ higher performance. However, the difference in SRL strategies used between males and females was not significant. This study is important as it provides evidence, in the Malaysian context, that will encourage a better understanding of the role of SRL in boosting the efficiency of the learning process from the perspectives of both learners and educators. Future research should delve deeper into how and to what extent students' characteristics affect the application of SRL.