Self-regulation refers to the process whereby students activate and sustain cognitions, behaviors, and affects, which are systematically oriented toward attainment of goals. Effective self-regulation requires that students have goals and the motivation to attain them, and maintain a sense of self-efficacy for learning and performing well. A social…

Social comparison is an important influence on motivation, capability self-evaluations (self-efficacy), and skillful performance. In addition, social comparative information provides a standard against which students can judge their present performance level. Students may experience an initial sense of self-efficacy in attaining a given standard;…

Two studies investigated how goals and self-evaluation affect motivation and achievement outcomes. In both studies, fourth-grade students received instruction and practice on fractions over sessions. Students worked under conditions involving either a goal of learning how to solve problems (learning goal) or a goal of merely solving them…

Self-monitoring refers to deliberate attention to aspects of one's behavior, and is an important component of self-regulated learning, which depends on favorable self-evaluations of one's capabilities and progress toward learning goals. This paper argues that self-regulated learning is enhanced when students self-monitor their learning progress,…

The purpose of this paper is to examine the theories and research concerning social comparison and goal setting processes in education and to discuss implications for educational practice and future research. Social comparison and goal setting are important contextual influences on children's task motivation, self-evaluations of capability, and…

Using a common methodology, two experiments examined the effects of learning and performance goals in conjunction with self-evaluation as fourth-graders acquired mathematical fraction skills. After a pretest on fractions, self-efficacy, skill persistence, and goal orientation, children in the first study--who were average achievers in…

This paper focuses on the role of self-evaluation during self-regulated learning. After a discussion of the social cognitive theory of self-regulation, self-efficacy, and achievement goals, two studies of fourth graders who were learning fraction skills and one ongoing research project with college students enrolled in their first computer class…