Approaches to learning, self-regulation and self-efficacy in the academic performance of university students

Abstract

The influence of learning approaches, the styles of self-regulation that the student considers in his academic task (self-regulation before, during and after the task) and the perceived academic self-efficacy of university students in their academic performance are analyzed. For this purpose, 136 participants of the 2nd year of the Degree in Psychology are available. The results show that students with good previous performance, greater self-efficacy and self-regulation better explain academic success. Of the approaches of learning it is necessary to emphasize that, as in other investigations, the most related to the academic performance is the strategic approach. However, the less successful students seem to contradict the results of other investigations predominating in them a deep approach. Along with these results, significant relationships are also shown between strategic approach, self-efficacy and self-regulation, but not with the deep approach. The bidirectional relationship of these variables with academic performance and with each other is discussed, particularly in regard to strategic approaches and self-regulation, including here the declarative metacognition factor of self-efficacy and its influence as an expectation of academic performance.