Bridging Education and Psychology: An Interdisciplinary View on Developing Self-regulated Learning
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.15503/jecs2026.1.327.349Keywords:
self-regulated learning; classroom level activities; policy implementation; interdisciplinary; self-regulation; executive functions.Abstract
Thesis. Self-regulated learning is defined in policy documents as one of the core transversal skills students must develop, and psychology theories offer clear theoretical definitions about constructs related to these skills. However, research indicates that implementation of classroom-level activities aimed at developing self-regulated learning is not clear for all teachers, leading to vast differences in practice. Therefore, the aim of this paper is to offer an interdisciplinary mapping of concepts that are related to self-regulated learning and lead to development of self-regulated learning – executive functions and self-regulation, based on research in psychology and education; and to offer an output – practical guide of specific teachers’ actions for developing students’ self-regulated learning in the classroom.
Concept. This study is designed as a conceptual theory-synthesis article with an embedded secondary analysis of classroom observation data used to contextualise the problem of implementing self-regulated learning in Latvia. Conceptual mapping of three important constructs – cognitive executive functions, self-regulation and self-regulated learning – is presented. A practical material for developing self-regulated learning at the classroom level is offered, including specific activities that teachers can implement in every lesson.
Results and conclusions. Based on the authors’ conceptual model that represents how three constructs (executive functions, self-regulation and self-regulated learning) interact, we conclude that effective implementation of SRL development should be interdisciplinary by involving professionals from psychology and education fields. The support for teachers should be grounded in theory, as well as offer clear practical steps of actions for teachers, such as the output material of the current research.
Downloads
References
Alves, A. F., Gomes, C. M. A., Martins, A., & da Silva Almeida, L. (2017). Cognitive performance and academic achievement: How do family and school converge? European Journal of Education and Psychology, 10(2), 49-56. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ejeps.2017.07.001
Bailey, R., & Jones, S. M. (2019). An integrated model of regulation for applied settings. Clinical Child and Family Psychology Review, 22, 2–23. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10567-019-00288-y
Bandura, A. (1991). Social cognitive theory of self-regulation. Organizational Behavior and Human Decision Processes, 50(2), 248-287. https://doi.org/10.1016/0749-5978(91)90022-L
Bandura, A. (2005). The Primacy of self-regulation in health promotion. Applied Psychology: An International Review, 54(2), 245–254. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1464-0597.2005.00208.x
Beaujean, A. A. (2015). John Carroll’s views on intelligence: Bi-factor vs. higher-order models. Journal of Intelligence, 3(4), 121-136. https://doi.org/10.3390/jintelligence3040121
Benick, M., Dörrenbächer-Ulrich, L., Weißenfels, M., & Perels, F. (2021). Fostering self-regulated learning in primary school students: Can additional teacher training enhance the effectiveness of an intervention? Psychology Learning & Teaching, 20(3), 324–347. https://doi.org/10.1177/14757257211013638
Berg, M., Talvio, M., Hietajärvi, L., Benítez, I., Cavioni, V., Conte, E., et al. (2021). The development of teachers’ and their students’ social and emotional learning during the “learning to be project” – training course in five European countries. Frontiers in Psychology, 12, Article 705336. https://doi.org/10.3389/fpsyg.2021.705336
Bērtule, D., Dudareva, I., Namsone, D., Čakāne, L., & Butkēviča, A. (2019, March 11–13). Framework of teacher performance assessment to support teaching 21st century skill. https://doi.org/10.21125/inted.2019.1410
Birtwistle, E., Chernikova, O., Wünsch, M., & Niklas, F. (2025). Training of executive functions in children: A meta-analysis of cognitive training interventions. SAGE Open, 15(1). https://doi.org/10.1177/21582440241311060
Boekaerts, M. (1996). Self-regulated learning at the junction of cognition and motivation. European Psychologist, 1(2), 100–112. https://doi.org/10.1027/1016-9040.1.2.100
Boekaerts, M., Maes, S., & Karoly, P. (2005). Self-regulation across domains of applied psychology: Is there an emerging consensus? Applied Psychology: An International Review, 54(2), 149–154. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1464-0597.2005.00201.x
Boekaerts, M., & Corno, L. (2005). Self-regulation in the classroom: A perspective on assessment and intervention. Applied Psychology: An International Review, 54(2), 199–231. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1464-0597.2005.00205.x
Brandisauskiene, A., Cesnaviciene, J., Miciuliene, R., & Kaminskiene, L. (2020). What factors matter for the sustainable professional development of teachers? Analysis from four countries. Journal of Teacher Education for Sustainability, 22(2), 153–170. https://doi.org/10.2478/jtes-2020-0022
Breitwieser, J., Neubauer, A. B., Schmiedek, F., & Brod, G. (2022). Self-regulation prompts promote the achievement of learning goals – but only briefly: Uncovering hidden dynamics in the effects of a psychological intervention. Learning and Instruction, 80, Article 101560. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.learninstruc.2021.101560
Briede, L., Samuilik, I., & Drelinga, E. (2024). Teachers’ perspectives on the education process: Identifying challenges and promoting sustainable solutions. Journal of Teacher Education for Sustainability, 26(1), 155–167. https://doi.org/10.2478/jtes-2024-0010
Cabinet of Ministers Republic of Latvia. (2018, November). Rule No. 747 from 27.11.2018. https://likumi.lv/ta/en/en/id/303768-regulations-regarding-the-state-basic-education-standard-and-model-basic-education-programmes
Čakāne, I., Greitāns, K., Burgmanis, Ģ., & Namsone, D. (2025). Towards blended learning in primary STEM in Latvia: Four teaching profiles. Education Sciences, 15(3), Article 295. https://doi.org/10.3390/educsci15030295
Cleary, T. J., Callan, G. L., & Zimmerman, B. J. (2012). Assessing self-regulation as a cyclical, context-specific phenomenon: Overview and analysis of SRL microanalytic protocols. Education Research International, Article 428639. https://doi.org/10.1155/2012/428639
Dacholfany, M. I., Antoni, R., Sulissusiawan, A., Rijal, S., Utiarahman, A., Vanni Alam, H., & Bagea, I. (2024). The effectiveness of teacher professional development program on classroom and behavior management: A systematic review. Journal of Education Culture and Society, 15(2), 451–470. https://doi.org/10.15503/jecs2024.2.451.470
Demetriou, A., Spanoudis, G., & Papadopoulos, T. C. (2024). The typical and atypical developing mind: a common model. Developmental Psychopathology, 37(2), 1095–1107. https://doi.org/10.1017/S0954579424000944
Efklides, A. (2011). Interactions of metacognition with motivation and affect in self-regulated learning: the MASRL model. Educational Psychologist, 46(1), 6–25. https://doi.org/10.1080/00461520.2011.538645
Ferreira, M., Martinsone, B. & Talic, S. (2020). Promoting sustainable social emotional learning in schools through relationship-centered learning environment, teaching methods and formative assessment. Journal of Teacher Education for Sustainability, 22(1), 21–36. https://doi.org/10.2478/jtes-2020-0003
Frey, M. C. (2019). What we know, are still getting wrong, and have yet to learn about the relationships among the SAT, intelligence and achievement. Journal of Intelligence, 7(4), Article 26. https://doi.org/10.3390/jintelligence7040026
Gomes, C. M. A., & Almeida, L. S. (2017). Advocating the broad use of the decision tree method in education. Practical Assessment, Research & Evaluation, 22(10), 1–10. https://openpublishing.library.umass.edu/pare/article/id/1629/
Gross, J. J., & Thompson, R. A. (2007). Emotion regulation: Conceptual foundations. In J. J. Gross (Ed.), Handbook of emotion regulation (pp. 3–24). The Guilford Press.
Hačatrjana, L., & Linde, I. (2023). Piloting supplementary materials aimed at developing students’ problem-solving and self-regulated learning skills. International Journal of Learning, Teaching and Educational Research, 22(6), 475–293.
Hadwin, A. F., Järvelä, S., and Miller, M. (2011). Self-regulated, co-regulated, and socially shared regulation of learning. In B. J. Zimmerman and D. H. Schunk (Eds.), Handbook of Self-Regulation of Learning and Performance (pp. 65–84). Routledge.
Hagger, M. S. (2010). Self-regulation: An important construct in health psychology research and practice. Health Psychology Review 4(2), 57–65. https://doi.org/10.1080/17437199.2010.503594
Hague, C. (2024). Fostering higher-order thinking skills online in higher education: A scoping review. OECD Education Working Papers (Working paper No. 306). OECD Publishing. https://doi.org/10.1787/84f7756a-en
Huang, L., Zhou, J.,Wang, D., Wang, F., Liu, J., Shi, D., Chen, X., Yang, D., & Pan, Q. (2023). Visualization analysis of global self-regulated learning status, hotspots, and future trends based on knowledge graph. Sustainability, 15(3), Article 2798. https://doi.org/10.3390/su15032798
Ifenthaler, D. (2012). Determining the effectiveness of prompts for self-regulated learning in problem-solving scenarios. Journal of Educational Technology & Society, 15(1), 38–52.
Jaakkola, E. (2020). Designing conceptual articles: four approaches. AMS Review, 10, 18–26. https://doi.org/10.1007/s13162-020-00161-0
Kan, K.-J., Psychogyiopoulos, A., Groot, L. J., de Jonge, H., & ten Hove, D. (2024). Why do bi-factor models outperform higher-order g factor models? A network perspective. Journal of Intelligence, 12(2), 18. https://doi.org/10.3390/jintelligence12020018
Kovacs, K., & Conway, A. R. A. (2016). Process overlap theory: A unified account of the general factor of intelligence. Psychological Inquiry, 27(3), 151–177. https://doi.org/10.1080/1047840X.2016.1153946
Lawson, M. J., Vosniadou, S., Van Deur, P., Wyra, M., & Jeffries, D. (2019). Teachers’ and students’ belief systems about the self-regulation of learning. Educational Psychology Review, 31, 223–251.
Linde, I., Hačatrjana, L., & Daniela, L. (2024). Teachers’ feedback on the use of supplementary materials for developing students’ self-regulated learning and problem solving skills. In L. Daniela (Ed.), Human, technologies and quality of education, 2024. Proceedings of scientific papers (Cilvēks, tehnoloģijas un izglītības kvalitāte. Rakstu krājums) (pp. 20–33). University of Latvia. https://doi.org/10.22364/htqe.2024
Linde, I., Sarva, E., & Daniela, L. (2022). Teachers’ beliefs and preferred approaches to address self-regulated learning development for their students. In Human, technologies and quality of education (pp. 533–546). https://doi.org/10.22364/htqe.2022.38
Liew, J. (2011). Effortful control, executive functions, and education: Bringing self-regulatory and social-emotional competencies to the table. Child Development Perspectives, 6(2), 105–111.
Manal, R., Droui, M., & Guerss, F.-Z. (2024). A teachers’ coaching approach to sustainable professional development. Journal of Teacher Education for Sustainability, 26(1), 63–80. https://doi.org/10.2478/jtes-2024-0005
Martinsone, B. (2016). Social emotional learning: Implementation of sustainability-oriented program in Latvia. Journal of Teacher Education for Sustainability, 18(1), 57–68. https://doi.org/10.1515/jtes-2016-0005
McClelland, M. M., Ponitz, C. C., Messersmith, E., & Tominey, S. (2010). Self-regulation: The integration of cognition and emotion. In R. Lerner (Ed.) & W. Overton (Vol. Ed.), Handbook of life-span development (Vol. 1: Cognition, biology and methods, pp. 509–553). Wiley & Sons.
Meesuk, P., Wongrugsa, A., & Wangkaewhiran, T. (2021). Sustainable teacher professional development through Professional Learning Community: PLC. Journal of Teacher Education for Sustainability, 23(2), 30–44. https://doi.org/10.2478/jtes-2021-0015
Mejeh, M., Stampfli, B., & Hascher, T. (2024). Understanding the promotion of self-regulated learning in upper secondary schools: How can teaching quality criteria contribute? Frontline Learning Research, 12(4), 55–84. https://doi.org/10.14786/flr.v12i4.1387
Miyake, A., Friedman, N. P., Emerson, M. J.,Witzki, A. H., Howerter, A., & Wager, T. D. (2000). The unity and diversity of executive functions and their contributions to complex “Frontal Lobe” tasks: A latent variable analysis. Cognitive Psychology, 41(1), 49–100.
Montroy, J. J., Bowles, R. P., Skibbe, L. E., McClelland, M. M., & Morrison, F. J. (2016). The development of self-regulation across early childhood. Developmental Psychology, 52(11), 1744–1762. https://doi.org/10.1037/dev0000159
Muijs, D., & Bokhove, C. (2020). Metacognition and self-regulation: evidence review. Education Endowment Foundation. https://educationendowmentfoundation.org.uk/education-evidence/evidence-reviews/metacognition-and-self-regulation
Newman, B. M., & Newman, P. R. (2020). Theories of adolescent development. Academic Press. https://doi.org/10.1016/C2017-0-03324-4
OECD. (2019). OECD Future of education and skills 2030 OECD learning compass 2030. A Series of Concept Notes. OECD. https://www.oecd.org/content/dam/oecd/en/about/projects/edu/education-2040/1-1-learning-compass/OECD_Learning_Compass_2030_Concept_Note_Series.pdf
OECD. (2023). PISA 2025 Learning in the digital world framework (Second draft). https://www.oecd.org/content/dam/oecd/en/topics/policy-sub-issues/learning-in-the-digital-world/PISA%202025%20Learning%20in%20the%20Digital%20World%20Assessment%20Framework%20-%20Second%20Draft.pdf/_jcr_content/renditions/original./PISA%202025%20Learning%20in%20the%20Digital%20World%20Assessment%20Framework%20-%20Second%20Draft.pdf
Panadero, E. (2017). A review of self-regulated learning: Six models and four directions for research. Frontiers in Psychology, 8, 422. https://doi.org/10.3389/fpsyg.2017.00422
Pintrich, P. R. (2000). The role of goal orientation in self-regulated learning. In M. Boekaerts, P. R. Pintrich, & M. Zeidner (Eds.), Handbook of Self-Regulation (pp. 452–502). Academic Press.
Ryan, R. M., & Deci, E. L. (2020). Intrinsic and extrinsic motivation from a self-determination theory perspective: Definitions, theory, practices, and future directions. Contemporary Educational Psychology, 61, Article 101860. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.cedpsych.2020.101860
Schunk, D. H., & Zimmerman, B. J. (1997). Social origins of self-regulatory competence. Educational Psychologist, 32(4), 195–208. https://doi.org/10.1207/s15326985ep3204_1
Schuster, C., Stebner, F., Geukes, S., Jansen, M., Leutner, D., & Wirth, J. (2023). The effects of direct and indirect training in metacognitive learning strategies on near and far transfer in self-regulated learning. Learning and Instruction, 83, 101708. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.learninstruc.2022.101708
Torraco, R. J. (2005). Writing integrative literature reviews: Guidelines and examples. Human Resource Development Review, 4(3), 356–367.
UL Interdisciplinary Centre of Educational Innovation (UL ICEI) (2023). Kā izglītības sistēma var atbalstīt skolotāju, lai skolēni varētu apgūt 21.gadsimta prasībām atbilstošu izglītību? [How can the education system support teachers so that students can acquire an education that meets the requirements of the 21st century?] https://www.siic.lu.lv/fileadmin/user_upload/lu_portal/projekti/siic/LU_Izglitibas_Sistemas_Atbalsts_Skolotajiem.pdf
Vosniadou, S., Bodner, E., Stephenson, H., Jefries, D., Lawson, M. J., Darmawan, G. N., Sean Kang, S., & Graham, L. (2024). The promotion of self-regulated learning in the classroom: a theoretical framework and an observation study. Metacognition and Learning, 19, 381–419. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11409-024-09374-1
WEF. (2018). The future of jobs report 2018. Centre for the New Economy and Society, World Economic Forum. Geneva. https://www.weforum.org/reports/the-future-of-jobs-report-2018
Winne, P. H., and Hadwin, A. F. (1998). Studying as self-regulated engagement in learning. In D. Hacker, J. Dunlosky, & A. Graesser (Eds.), Metacognition in educational theory and practice (pp. 277–304.). Erlbaum.
Zimmerman, B. J. (2000). Attaining self-regulation: A social cognitive perspective. In M. Boekaerts, P. R. Pintrich, & M. Zeidner (Eds.), Handbook of self-regulation (pp. 13–39). Academic Press.
Zimmerman, B. J. (2008). Investigating Self-Regulation and Motivation: Historical Background, Methodological Developments, and Future Prospects. American Educational Research Journal, 45, 166–183. https://doi.org/10.3102/0002831207312909
Zimmerman, B. J., & Moylan, A. R. (2009). Self-regulation: Where metacognition and motivation intersect. In D. J. Hacker, J. Dunlosky, & A. C. Graesser (Eds.), Handbook of metacognition in education (pp. 299–315). Routledge.
Downloads
Published
Issue
Section
License
Copyright (c) 2026 Liena Hačatrjana, Dace Namsone, Baiba Martinsone, Ildze Čakāne
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License.
CC-BY
Authors retain copyright and grant the journal right of first publication with the work simultaneously licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution License that allows others to share the work with an acknowledgement of the work's authorship and initial publication in this journal. All authors agree for publishing their email adresses, affiliations and short bio statements with their articles during the submission process.
