Self-regulation in mathematics: different strategies for different levels of achievement

Abstract

This study analyses the use of learning and motivation strategies High School students (ESO) as a function of academic performance in mathematics, with the main objective of identifying the strategies that actually seem to contribute to or explain the different types of performance. 292 ESO students were assessed on the use of learning and motivational strategies and academic performance in mathematics. The results showed that, although all students, regardless of their performance, use the strategies, only some of them appear to be weighted towards the medium and high achievers, and even fewer strategies seem to explain them. Of all the learning strategies, only some in the ‘resource control’ group seem to explain significantly and positively both levels of performance. When mathematical performance is average, peer help seems to be key. Effort and, marginally, the cognitive strategy of critical thinking contribute to high performance. The data also reveal differences in the case of motivational strategies. Thus, although self-efficacy seems to contribute positively in both cases, it does so only significantly when performance is high and marginally when it is average. Another notable difference is the finding of a significant negative contribution in the case of self-handicapping motivational strategies only when performance is high. It seems that variables that may explain higher performance in isolation lose impact in a realistic situation in which the student uses several strategies and all are analysed together. The theoretical and practical implications of these results are discussed.

Keywords: self-regulation, learning strategies, motivational strategies, mathematics, middle school.