Why do college students lack self-regulation? The effect of sex and gender

This research article addresses the complex dynamics of higher education, examining the impact of gender and age differences on internal and external self-regulation of learning. The regulation of learning in the university context has become a crucial topic of study due to its profound impact on academic and personal success and the development of learning skills. Data were collected from 313 university students using validated questionnaires based on the theory of Self- vs. Externally Regulated Learning (2017). Using an ex post facto design, descriptive, correlational, and inferential analyses were carried out, with statistically significant results. Among the results, significant gender differences stand out among the variables analyzed, revealing that women tend to self-regulate more than men, while the latter show higher scores in non-regulation and dysregulation. In relation to age, differences were only found in the non-regulation variable, observing that this decreases as age increases. In addition, positive predictive effects of the external regulation variables were observed with respect to the self-regulatory variables in learning. These findings are discussed, and considerations are raised such as paying more attention to the design of regulatory teaching in the university environment. Also important is for students to activate their metacognitive reflection and become accustomed to regulating themselves more proactively.