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ABSTRACT
Self-regulated learning strategies for the on-line adult distance learnersA case of Universiti Teknologi MARA
Shireen Haron, Norshidah Mohd Nordin and Rohaya Abdul Wahab
The rapid expansion of the Web as a potential course delivery and the competitive platform, combined withthe increasing interest in lifelong learning has created a significant incentive for universities to develop on-line programs. Due to this mode of learning adult learners need to be highly regulated and responsible for organizing and reflecting on their learning. Hence this study intends to identify self-regulated learningstrategies used by adult learners and its relationship on their academic achievement. The findings show thatthere was a positive but low relationship between organization, meta-cognition, effort regulation, extrinsicgoal orientation on academic achievement. In terms of determining the contributions of the significant predictive power of self-regulated learning in explaining academic achievement, the result revealed that17.9% of the variance in academic achievement is explained by meta-cognition and effort regulation.
Keywords: Self-regulated learning strategies, Motivational belief, Academic achievement
Background of the study
Development of technologies available for the design and delivery of education systemhave been constantly revolutionized at a rapid pace in relation to the advancement of technologies. One of the products of this venture is the birth and growth of e-learning in theMalaysian educational scene, in particular at the higher education scenario. E-learning basedmodel proposed that the instructor and learners are separated by physical distance, and on-linedelivery media are used to bridge the instructional gap (Hwang & Konstantinous, 2002). Hence,the question of providing accessibility to the potential learners becomes an issue of paramountimportance among distance education providers. Blass and Davis (2003) also reiterated that thequestion of accessibility has two strands: the physical flexibility of e-learning in terms of time, place, etc allows for participation in learning of those who would otherwise be unable to accesslearning experiences; and offering the opportunity of being accessibly in the sense of recognizinglearners’ needs and designing an experience to address them. Both of these interpretations thenrecognize the importance of the learners as the recipients and beneficiaries of these educational programs and processes. Recognizing such importance means utilizing and providing learningexperiences that are learner centered. Recognizing this further provided for the need to look atissues that relate to individual differences among the learners such as issues on adult learners’characteristics in relation to their learning styles and learning strategies.Recently, much research related to active and meaningful learning has yielded significantinsights and has lead to the theories concerning self-regulating learning (Zimmermen, 1990). Infact, the expanded interest in learning strategies is a result of the large and growing number of academically under- prepare or disadvantage students entering the college Weinstein (1988).Furthermore, with the new mode of learning, that is, focusing on the web-based or the internet base learning, it is likely that students need to be highly self-regulated and responsible for organizing and reflecting on their learning (Haziah, 2004). For instance, in such setting, learnersare required to complete many assignments, projects and folios independently; hence competencyin self-regulated learning plays an important role in determining the success of learning,
 
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 particularly in the on-line web-based learning. Hence, self-regulated learning is required for academic performance by the on-line adult learners. Lack of learning strategies is one of theimportant variables that explained learners’ difficulty (Balajthy, 1990). Apparently, some expertshave argued that self-regulation of learning has a positive influence on academic success (Cornoand Mandinach, 1983; Corno and Rohrkemper, 1985). However, a great deal of knowledge aboutstudents learning strategies has been accumulated in recent years but very little is known abouttheir use in the new environment. Furthermore, the existing empirical literature supports the trendestablished in research with more traditional classroom setting for effective learning and performance (Schunk & Zimmerman (1998) and still lacking in the area of web-based or online learning (Artino and Stephen, 2006). Thus, this study, aims to fill such gaps in the research of self-regulated academic learning by answering one overriding question that is: Does self-regulated learning strategies influence academic achievement of the on-line adult learners of higher learning institutions?
Objectives of the study
 1.
 
To identify the self-regulated learning strategies used by the adult on-line distancelearners of UiTM, Shah Alam2.
 
To identify the significant difference between academic achievement and self-regulatedlearning strategies of the adult on-line distance learners of UiTM, Shah Alam3.
 
To identify the contribution of each of the significant self-regulated learning strategiesdimensions towards the variance of the academic achievement
Review of the literature
One of the factors that determines successful student learning is the ability to use theappropriate learning strategies (Styles and Zariski, 2000). However, literature showed that muchof the studies done on online or web based learning is the comparison between traditionalclassroom learners and the online distance learners (Sitzmann, Kraiger, Stewart, & Wisher, 2006,Artino (in press). With few exceptions, findings from these studies indicated that, there were nomuch different between learning outcome of the online distance learners and those with thetraditional face-to face learning (Phipps & Merisotis, 1999). Studies shown that were severaldeficiencies in past research in distance learning (Abrami & Bernard, 2006; Saba, 2000). In thissense, Artino and Stephen (2006) assert that two important issues have been identified. First, alarge proportion of the distance education research has emphasized comparisons of achievementoutcomes
between
groups of distance and traditional learners, at the expense of any considerationfor 
within
group variation in achievement and satisfaction among distance learners. Second, muchof the research has lacked a theoretical or conceptual framework. In response to these problems,experts in the field of distance education (Abrami & Bernard, 2006; Saba, 2000) have challengedresearchers to (1) focus future studies on within group differences among distance learners;specifically, those attribute such as motivational, cognitive, and otherwise that contribute tosuccess in distance learning environments; and (2) conduct research that is grounded in learningtheory and which builds on the work of others. Subsequently
 
a substantial body of evidence hasaccrued exemplifying the role of self-regulated learning behavior in academic achievement. Muchof this research has however, been conducted in Western educational settings. Besides, a widerange of educational and cultural differences could contribute to differences in the self-regulatedlearning behavior of Western and Asian students (Artino & Stephens, 2006). Whilst researchinvestigating cultural influences on the self-regulated learning of students is meager, there isreason nevertheless, to expect that the self-regulated learning behavior of students may vary between cultures, particularly in the Malaysian context. Recent research in educational psychology has identified self-regulation of learning as a key characteristic that appears to berelated to academic success in learner-controlled environments such as online courses
 
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(Zimmerman, 2000; Corno & Mandinanch, 1983). Besides, many experts believe that self-regulatory skills are essential for success in highly autonomous learning and that the developmentof the self-regulated skills can be supported by web-based pedagogical tools (Zimmerman andTsikalas, 2005). Pintrinch and De Groot (1990) noted that three components of self-regulatedlearning strategies seem especially important for learners are:
 
1)
 
Self-regulated learning include students’ meta-cognitive strategies for planning,monitoring and modifying their cognition (Zimmereman & Pon, 1988)2)
 
Students’ management and control effort on academic tasks has been proposed as another important component.3)
 
Another important aspect of self-regulated learning is the actual cognitive strategies thatstudents use to learn, remember and understand the material.Self-regulated learning describes how learners meta-cognitively, motivationally and behaviorally promote their own academic achievement ( Zimmerman, 1990). Meta-cognitively, self-regulatedlearners plan, organize, self-monitor and self-evaluate at various stage of the learning processes.Motivationally, self-regulated learners perceived themselves as competent, self efficacious,autonomous and they work hard to achieve their academic goals. Behaviorally, self-regulatedlearners select structure and even create environments that optimize learning.
Methodology
 This study was based on conceptual framework of social cognitive theory and literaturereviews. Bandura’s (1986) social cognitive theory views that human functioning as interactions between behavior, environmental and personal factors. Based on this theory, self-regulatedlearning process such as self-observation, self- judgment and self-reaction are influenced byenvironmental and personal factors. The MSLQ or Motivated Strategies for LearningQuestionnaire which was developed by Pintrich, Smith, Gracia and Mckeachie (1991)consists of two sections; a motivational and a learning strategies, was used to measure the self-regulatedlearning strategies used by the adult on –line learners. The samples were drawn from the facultyof Public Administration adult learners undertaking on-line a Diploma in Public Administration(DPA) program. Based from a table mathematical formula taken from Cohen, Manion andMorrison (2000), a sample size of 278 was determined. The data analysis involved the descriptivestatistics and inferential statistics. The first step in the data analysis involved the descriptivestatistic namely mean scores, frequency count and percentages were used to describe the profileof the respondents. The second steps in the data analysis involved the measuring the strength anddirection of the relationship between the CPGA and the sub-scales of the self-regulated learningand study strategy. Therefore, Pearson’s Product –Moment Correlation Coefficient (r) will beused. Lastly to identify the contribution of each of the significant self-regulated learningstrategies dimensions towards the variance of the academic achievement, multiple regression testwas utilized. To check if the assumption on normality, a statistical normality test usingkolmgrorov –Smirnov test was also performed on the data set to provide confirmation pertainingto the distribution of the data
.
Apart from that,
 
the data of this study were also tested for potential problems related to multicollinearity, where its presence could violate the used of the multipleregressions analyze.
 
Findings
An analysis on the self-regulated learning and study strategies used by the adult on-line distancelearners of UiTM, Shah AlamTable 4.0:The self-regulated learning strategies used by adult online learners
Self-regulated Learning strategies Mean Std deviationLearning strategies
Effort regulationElaboration5.3695.2211.0410.948
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