Chapter 4: A Personal Agency view of Self-Regulated Learning: The Role of Goal Setting

Current theories of human learning, motivation, and self-regulation view individuals not as passive recipients of environmental inputs but rather as active creators of their thoughts, behaviors, and outcomes (Ryan, 2012; Zimmerman & Schunk, 2011). Our sense of personal agency defines us as intentional, proactive, and striving beings. But how do we become agents in shaping our lives? Much progress has been made in recent years in identifying key self-regulatory processes and sources of motivation of agents. This chapter recounts the development and application of a social cognitive cyclical model of self-regulated learning, with particular attention to the central role of goal setting.