Lies Backers

Assistant at the research group 'Language, learning, innovation', within the Department of Educational Sciences, Ghent University.

Lies.Backers@ugent.be |  +32 (0)9 264 86 64 (secretariaat)   

 Henri Dunantlaan 2, 9000 Gent

Self-regulated learning

Primary education

Self-regulated learning skills – such as planning, setting goals, selection of learning strategies, self-monitoring and self-evaluating – are essential for lifelong learning and have a positive effect on learners’ academic achievements. Self-regulated learning (SRL) or ‘learning to learn’ receive much attention in educational research and practice, but self-regulation doesn’t develop automatically. Teachers play a key role in supporting SRL, but research on what determines teachers’ promotion of SRL and how they can be supported is scarce. Moreover, recent studies show that teachers do not spend much time explicitly teaching SRL strategies and many teachers have little confidence to teach SRL skills in their classroom.

Because of teachers’ crucial role, the limited implementation of SRL and the limited research, my PhD project focuses on teachers’ implementation of self-regulated learning in primary education.