Contributions of Metacognitive Self-regulation and Academic Locus of Control to Online Learning Persistence
Abstract: This study examined differences between the group of persistent and group of dropout students enrolled in an online course in five factors: support from family and work, academic locus of control, academic self-efficacy, time and environment management skills, and metacognitive self -regulation skills. Moreover, this study investigated the most significant factors discriminating students’ success in their online course completion. A total number of 169 adult students participated in the study. We used online surveys that consisted of 27 items adopted from the literature to measure the level of five factors that students perceive. The analysis showed that persistent students had higher levels of academic locus of control and metacognitive self-regulation skills than dropout students. In conclusion, academic locus of control and metacognitive self-regulation skills were found to be the most significant factors influencing students’ persistence in an online course.