BASIC EDUCATION TEACHERS' SOCIAL REPRESENTATIONS OF SELF-REGULATED LEARNING

Abstract

In self-regulation learning, are considered the elements that help the individual in the development of his own learning, such as planning, autonomy, implementation of objectives and elaboration of strategies for the act of learning. As this construct is relatively new, the objective of this research, developed from a Doctorate course in a postgraduate program in Education, was to interpret the social representations that Basic Education teachers have about self-regulation learning and verify their origin. The Sociocognitive Theory and the Central Core Theory make up the theoretical framework adopted in this investigation, which was realized in two phases: in the first, 214 Basic Education teachers responded to a sociodemographic assessment and to a word evocation evaluation; in the second phase, 23 teachers participated in online focus group meetings. After the first phase, two analyses were carried out: a prototype  analysis and a content  analysis, which allowed the identification of the possible central core, peripheries and elements belonging to the contrast zone. After the second phase, a new content analysis was carried out and it was possible to validate the previously identified social representations, including two elements comprising the central core: autonomy and motivation. These elements demonstrated a direct relationship with the others identified in the analyzes and demonstrated to be aligned with the formal concept of self-regulation learning. However, it was possible to verify that the teachers' representations regarding the construct dealt with here did not come from a systematized understanding, but rather from an impression, generated from their daily activities and from the conversations that took place in the focus group meetings.