Enhancing Self-Regulated Learning Through an Academic Self-Regulation Program and Mobile App

Abstract

First-generation students face structural barriers and demonstrate lower self-regulated learning (SRL) than continuing-generation peers. SRL is essential for engagement and preparation for occupational therapy practice. This study examined effects of an Academic Self-Regulation (ASR) program, supported by a mobile app, on SRL among first- and continuing-generation health professions students. Mixed methods with a pretest–posttest survey and semi-structured interviews. Using the Self-Regulated Learning Perception Scale (SRLPS), first-generation students (n = 11) scored lower than continuing-generation peers (n = 6) in motivation, planning, and self-directedness at baseline. Among the eight students completing pre/post surveys, large effect sizes (Cohen’s d = 1.41–1.64) indicated improvements across all domains, eliminating group differences. Satisfaction was high (M = 4.21/5). Qualitative data highlighted greater planning, strategic learning, and ownership of learning. Structured SRL instruction with digital tools may enhance academic participation, promote equity, and support professional development in occupational therapy education.

Plain Language Summary

Helping Students Take Charge of Their Learning: A Program to Build Self-Regulated Learning Skills

First-generation students in higher education, those whose parents do not have a bachelor’s degree, often face greater challenges in higher education, such as managing time, staying motivated, and using effective study strategies. In occupational therapy programs, students must balance academic learning with preparation for real-world fieldwork. These demands require strong self-regulated learning (SRL) skills: the ability to plan, use strategies, monitor progress, and reflect on learning.

This study evaluated a 6-week online Academic Self-Regulation (ASR) program for health professions students, designed to teach self-regulated learning (SRL) strategies and supported by a mobile app for out-of-class practice. Seventeen students completed a pre-program survey; eight completed the full program, including a follow-up survey and interview.

Findings showed improvements in SRL across all participants, especially in motivation, planning, and self-direction. First-generation students initially scored lower on SRL measures, but these gaps lessened after completing the program. Students reported feeling more in control of their learning and better able to manage time. The app served as a helpful reminder to reflect, organize, and apply strategies consistently.

Both survey data and interviews highlighted how structured SRL instruction can strengthen academic habits and confidence. By embedding tools like the ASR program in occupational therapy education, institutions can help students, especially those from first-generation backgrounds, develop essential skills for academic and clinical success. Promoting SRL may foster greater equity in learning outcomes and prepare students to become more thoughtful, adaptable, and client-centered occupational therapists.

Keywords

occupational therapy education health professions education academic self-regulation self-regulated learning academic success first-generation student

Get full access to this article

View all access options for this article.

References

American Occupational Therapy Association. (2020). Occupational therapy practice framework: Domain and process (4th ed.). American Journal of Occupational Therapy, 74(Suppl. 2), 7412410010.

Antonelli

Jones

S. J.

Burridge

A. B.

Hawkins

(2020). Understanding the self-regulated learning characteristics of first-generation college students. Journal of College Student Development, 61(1), 67–83. https://doi.org/10.1353/csd.2020.0004

Baars

Zafar

Hrehovcsik

de Jongh

Paas

(2022). Ace your self-study: A mobile application to support self-regulated learning. Frontiers in Psychology, 13, Article 793042. https://doi.org/10.3389/fpsyg.2022.793042

Banks

T. M.

(2022). Leading the OT profession toward diversity, equity, and inclusion: Let’s talk academia. The American Journal of Occupational Therapy, 76(Suppl. 1), 7610505071p1. https://doi.org/10.5014/ajot.2022.76S1-PO71

Bell

C. V.

Pape

S. J.

(2014). Scaffolding the development of self-regulated learning in mathematics classrooms. Middle School Journal, 45(4), 23–32. https://doi.org/10.1080/00940771.2014.11461893

Burwell

J. M.

Lobo

(2025). Key disparities between first-generation and continuing-generation medical students: A quantitative analysis. BMC Medical Education, 25(1), 955. https://doi.org/10.1186/s12909-025-07417-y

Chang

C. Y.

Setiani

Darmawansah

Yang

J. C.

(2024). Effects of game-based learning integrated with the self-regulated learning strategy on nursing students’ entrustable professional activities: A quasi-experimental study. Nurse Education Today, 139, 106213. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.nedt.2024.106213

Crompton

Burke

(2018). The use of mobile learning in higher education: A systematic review. Computers & Education, 123, 53–64. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.compedu.2018.04.007

Cuellar

M. G.

Bencomo Garcia

Saichaie

(2021). Reaffirming the public purposes of higher education: First-generation and continuing generation students’ perspectives. The Journal of Higher Education, 93(2), 273–296. https://doi.org/10.1080/00221546.2021.1979849

10.

Donini-Lenhoff

Brotherton

(2010). Racial-ethnic diversity in allied health: The continuing challenge. Journal of Allied Health, 39(2), 104–109. https://www-jstor-org-443.web.bisu.edu.cn/stable/48721611

11.

FirstGen Forward. (2020). National data fact sheet. https://www.firstgenforward.org/our-insights

12.

Fox

M. F. J.

Howson

C. K.

Kingsbury

(2023). Equity, diversity, and inclusion: Does social justice from the top trickle down? Journal of Further and Higher Education, 14(1), 1–12. https://doi.org/10.1080/0309877X.2023.2188178

13.

Gallagher

R. G.

Hamed

(2022). Benefits of peer-mentorship for entry-level occupational therapy students: A descriptive study. The Open Journal of Occupational Therapy, 10(4), 1–10. https://doi.org/10.15453/2168-6408.1946

14.

Ham

(2025a). An academic self-regulation program for first-generation students in occupational therapy: A preexperimental study. The Open Journal of Occupational Therapy, 13(1), 1–22. https://doi.org/10.15453/2168-6408.2254

15.

Ham

(2025b). Factors contributing to low academic performance of first-generation students in OT. American Journal of OT, 79, 7902180030. https://doi.org/10.5014/ajot.2025.050875

16.

Ivarsson

Andersen

M. B.

Johnson

Lindwall

(2013). To adjust or not adjust: Nonparametric effect sizes, confidence intervals, and real-world meaning. Psychology of Sport and Exercise, 14(1), 97–102. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.psychsport.2012.07.007

17.

Ives

Castillo-Montoya

(2020). First-generation college students as academic learners: A systematic review. Review of Educational Research, 90(2), 139–178. https://doi.org/10.3102/0034654319899707

18.

López

M. J.

Sanelices

M. V.

Taveras

C. M.

(2023). Academic performance and adjustment of first-generation students to higher education: A systematic review. Student Learning, Childhood & Voices, 10, 1–26. https://doi.org/10.1080/2331186X.2023.2209484

19.

McCarthy

Chavez

Gastelum

Gomez

Salas

Severson

Zabat

(2023). Imposter phenomenon: The occupational experiences of first-generation college students. The Open Journal of Occupational Therapy, 11(2), 1–18. https://doi.org/10.15453/2168-6408.2011

20.

Moghimi

Rickelman

M. C.

(2012). Learning and Study Strategies Inventory (LASSI): Predicting academic performance in occupational therapy students. Occupational Therapy in Health Care, 26(3), 216–227. https://doi.org/10.3109/07380577.2012.695379

21.

Nguyen

T.-H.

Nguyen

B. M. D.

(2018). Is the “first-generation student” term useful for understanding inequality? The role of intersectionality in illuminating the implications of an accepted—yet unchallenged—term. Review of Research in Education, 42(1), 146–176. https://doi.org/10.3102/0091732X18759280

22.

Philpott-Robinson

K. R.

(2023). Self-regulation practice in occupational therapy: A conceptual analysis [Doctoral dissertation, The University of Newcastle- Australia, Callaghan, NSW). https://novaprd.newcastle.edu.au/vital/access/manager/Repository/uon:55603

23.

Proudfoot

(2022). Inductive/deductive hybrid thematic analysis in mixed methods research. Journal of Mixed Methods Research, 17(3), 155868982211268. https://doi.org/10.1177/15586898221126816

24.

Pucillo

E. M.

Perez

(2023). Metacognition and self-regulation influence academic performance in occupational and physical therapy students. Journal of OT Education, 7(1). https://doi.org/10.26681/jote.2023.070104

25.

Ramirez

Kiraly-Alvarez

A. F.

(2023). Exploring supports and barriers to inclusion in occupational therapy education. American Journal of Occupational Therapy, 7(4), 1–33. https://doi.org/10.5014/ajot.2021.75S2-RP199

26.

Ratcliff

Smith

T. M.

(2020). OT students’ experiential and SRL in a community program for breast cancer survivors. Journal of OT Education, 4(4). https://doi.org/10.26681/jote.2020.040416

27.

Suhandoko

A. D. J.

Hsu

C.-S.

(2020). Applying self-regulated learning intervention to enhance students’ learning: A quasi-experimental approach. International Journal of Instruction, 13(3), 649–664. https://doi.org/10.29333/iji.2020.13344a

28.

Taff

S. D.

Kniepmann

Grajo

L. C.

Russell-Thomas

D. C.

Berg

(2023). Impact of basic needs fulfillment on the health, well-being, and academic engagement of occupational therapy students. Occupational Therapy in Health Care, 39(2), 241–260. https://doi.org/10.1080/07380577.2023.2269429

29.

Teresi

J. A.

Stewart

A. L.

Hays

R. D.

(2022). Guidelines for designing and evaluating feasibility pilot studies. Medical Care, 60(1), 95–103. https://doi.org/10.1097/MLR.0000000000001664

30.

Theobald

(2021). Self-regulated learning training programs enhance university students’ academic performance: A meta-analysis. Journal of Educational Psychology, 113(2), 397–418. https://doi.org/10.1037/edu0000475

31.

Tovin

M. M.

Wormley

M. E.

(2023). Systematic development of standards for mixed methods reporting in rehabilitation health sciences research (MMR-RHS). Physical Therapy, 103(11), pzad134. https://doi.org/10.1093/ptj/pzad134

32.

Tunningley

J. M.

(2021). Interprofessional reflective journals: Content themes and self-regulated learning. Journal of Occupational Therapy Education, 5(4). https://doi.org/10.26681/jote.2021.050409

33.

Turan

Demirel

Ö.

Sayek

. (2009). Metacognitive awareness and self-regulated learning skills of medical students in different medical curricula. Medical Teacher, 31(10), e477–e483. https://doi.org/10.3109/01421590903193521

34.

U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics. (2025). Education pays. https://www.bls.gov/emp/tables/unemployment-earnings-education.htm

35.

Zimmerman

B. J.

(1998). Developing self-fulfilling cycles of academic regulation: An analysis of exemplary instructional models. In Schunk

D. H.

Zimmerman

B. J.

(Eds.), Self-regulated learning: From teaching to self-reflective practice (pp. 1–19). Guilford Publications.

Supplementary Material

Please find the following supplemental material available below.

For Open Access articles published under a Creative Commons License, all supplemental material carries the same license as the article it is associated with.

For non-Open Access articles published, all supplemental material carries a non-exclusive license, and permission requests for re-use of supplemental material or any part of supplemental material shall be sent directly to the copyright owner as specified in the copyright notice associated with the article.

0.00 MB

0.03 MB