Understanding academic difficulty through self-regulated learning at a non-elite Chinese university

Abstract Self-regulated learning (SRL) is widely recognized as a key determinant of academic achievement, yet how regulatory processes operate among academically struggling students remains insufficiently understood. This explanatory mixed-methods study investigated the relationship between SRL and academic achievement and explored the regulatory experiences of students with persistent academic difficulty at a public non-elite university in China. Quantitative data were collected using a context-adapted SRL questionnaire and students’ cumulative GPA, followed by semi-structured interviews with purposively selected students experiencing academic difficulty. Quantitative findings identified planning and effort as the strongest predictors of academic achievement. Qualitative findings showed that these strategies were often enacted in reactive, examination-oriented, and emotionally constrained ways, accompanied by superficial monitoring, maladaptive reflection, and fragile self-efficacy. Integrating both strands of evidence suggests that academic difficulty is better understood as a process of regulatory distortion rather than merely a deficit in self-regulated learning. These findings extend current understandings of SRL by emphasizing the quality of regulatory enactment and highlight the need for context-sensitive interventions that foster adaptive self-regulation among academically struggling university students.