Conceptualising and effectuating self‐regulation, self‐regulated learning and executive function in education contexts for children and adolescents: A scoping review

Abstract Self‐regulation is a prominent area of concern in education, with many children and adolescents experiencing challenges engaging in learning tasks. Educators report difficulty measuring and documenting self‐regulation challenges in school‐aged children for the purpose of planning and implementation support and/or intervention. We sought to understand the self‐regulation discourse in education literature. To investigate how self‐regulation, self‐regulated learning and executive function are described, defined and measured in education literature. The Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta‐Analyses‐Scoping Review (PRISMA‐ScR) and the Joanna Briggs Institute methodology guided the review. MEDLINE, Embase, CINAHL, PsychInfo and ERIC databases were searched with studies from 2000 to June 2, 2023. Data were extracted with results presented in figurative, tabular and narrative synthesis. A preliminary search was conducted to test the search strategy and refinements were made as required. Inclusion criteria were as follows: (1) English full‐text, (2) children aged 0–17 years and 11 months, (3) peer‐reviewed publications (4) studies published in education journals or a lead author holding an education qualification. Content analysis of construct descriptions within included studies was conducted. A total of 4159 articles were screened for eligibility, and 178 were reviewed at full text. One‐hundred and twenty‐one studies were included in this review. Descriptions and definitions of self‐regulation and related constructs (executive function, self‐regulated learning) were examined by content analysis using a priori codebook. Self‐regulation, self‐regulated learning and executive function were analysed via content analysis. Constructs were defined in several studies; however, there remained definitional ambiguity between the terms. Measures were used inconsistently across the constructs, which we hypothesise may be driven by challenges with the theoretical underpinnings of the constructs.