Investigating students’ performance at self-regulated learning and its effects on learning outcomes in chemistry class at the senior secondary school

The impact of self-regulated learning (SRL) on students’ performance in various subjects has been extensively studied. However, there has been limited research on how task-specific SRL skills and self-reported SRL skills affect students’ learning outcomes in chemistry classes at senior secondary schools. To address this gap, we examined the task-specific SRL skills, self-reported SRL skills, and learning outcomes of a group of Grade 10 students (n = 170) studying the topic: Changes of Charged Electrolyte Solutions. Data was collected through a self-report SRL skills survey, a task-specific SRL skills survey, and an achievement test, and a path analysis was conducted to explore the relationship and effects between SRL skills and learning outcomes. Our findings revealed a direct relationship between students’ task-specific SRL skills and their chemistry achievement. The clustering analysis showed that a significant number of students had SRL skills at the middle level in chemistry learning. Additionally, students with different SRL levels performed differently at specific SRL phases and strategies. These findings have important implications for teaching strategies aimed at promoting students’ SRL and for the assessment of SRL in science education.