Author Information
Maria de Fátima Goulão, Universidade Aberta, PortugalAbstract
Grounded in the concepts of self-regulated learning and metacognition as key competences in higher education, this study explores adult online students' perceptions of the governance of their own learning. The study was guided by the following research question: Who governs your learning? In this study, learning governance refers to students' perceived agency and responsibility in directing, monitoring and regulating their own learning processes. A qualitative thematic analysis was conducted on 166 written reflections produced by adult university students enrolled in a pedagogical training course. The analysis identified five main categories: Learner Agency; Self-Regulation and Learning Management; Procrastination and Self-Regulatory Barriers; Contextual Support and Social Influences; V. Most participants perceived themselves as the primary agents of their learning, emphasising autonomy, responsibility and self-discipline, while also acknowledging the influence of factors such as procrastination, fatigue and competing external demands. The prevalence of metacognitive reflection suggests a high level of awareness of the learning process and of the strategies required to regulate it effectively. The findings indicate that learning governance is primarily perceived as an individual responsibility, although it is shaped by the continuous interaction between personal agency and contextual influences. These results highlight the importance of fostering self-regulation and metacognitive competences through pedagogical practices that promote autonomous learning, particularly in online higher education, where students' active engagement is fundamental to academic success.
Paper Information
Conference: PCE2026Stream: Adult
This paper is part of the PCE2026 Conference Proceedings (View)
Full Paper
View / Download the full paper in a new tab/window
To cite this article:
Goulão M. (2026) Pedagogical Innovation in Online Learning Environments: Students’ Perspectives on Learning Governance ISSN: 2758-0962 The Paris Conference on Education 2026: Official Conference Proceedings (pp. 447-459) https://doi.org/10.22492/issn.2758-0962.2026.34
To link to this article: https://doi.org/10.22492/issn.2758-0962.2026.34
Comments
Powered by WP LinkPress