An identity systems perspective on high ability in self-regulated learning

In this paper, we consider the theoretical implications of having high ability and being labeled as highly able to engagement in self-regulated learning. We frame this theoretical explication with the Dynamic Systems Model of Role Identity (DSMRI). The DSMRI depicts self-regulated learning as emerging from a complex dynamic system that integrates content knowledge and strategic knowledge with four role-based, contextually constructed, and interdependent components of the role identity of “student”: ontological and epistemological beliefs, purpose and goals, self-perceptions and self-definitions, and perceived action possibilities. These, in turn, emerge within a set of control parameters: the culture, social context, subject domain, and the individual’s implicit dispositions. We describe various ways by which high ability may manifest in these control parameters and influence the role-identity components, their relations, and their dynamic change, as they pertain to utilizing self-regulation strategies. For clarification, we also provide brief interview excerpts from honors college students that illustrate manifestations of role identity elements. We conclude by noting the implications of the DSMRI for future research and educational practice on students’ high ability and self-regulation.