Do you find yourself reminding your child constantly about homework, or does she tackle tasks independently? Researchers in South Africa wanted to understand why some primary school children develop self-regulated learning—the ability to set their own goals, check their progress, and change their approach when something isn't working—while others don't.
They interviewed school management teams across five primary schools to find out. What they discovered was striking: school leaders genuinely understand why this skill matters, but most aren't actively ensuring teachers are actually teaching it.
How school leaders accidentally hold back independent learning
The study found three main obstacles. First, principals and senior staff often lack deep knowledge about self-regulated learning themselves, so they can't guide teachers effectively. Second, they're drowning in administrative work and don't have time to focus on classroom instruction. Third, there's no clear system for checking whether teachers are genuinely building this skill in lessons.
Most schools rely on compliance checklists—tick-box inspections where leaders look for whether certain activities happen, rather than examining whether children are actually learning to regulate their own behaviour and thinking.
What actually works: collaborative watching and reflection
The turning point came when researchers identified schools where self-regulated learning thrived. The difference? School leaders moved away from inspections and instead watched lessons together with teachers, then had thoughtful discussions about what they observed. Teachers felt supported rather than judged, and the quality of instruction improved significantly.
This matters for your child because when school leaders actively champion and monitor self-regulated learning, teachers feel empowered to teach it consistently. When they don't, the skill remains inconsistently taught—regardless of how strong the school's curriculum or reputation appears.
Three ways to support your child's independent learning at home
- Ask your child to explain their learning goals for homework, rather than simply checking if it's finished.
- When she gets stuck, pause before helping—ask what strategies she's already tried and what she might try next.
- Speak with school leaders about whether classroom observations focus on self-regulated learning specifically, not just lesson compliance.