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5. CASE STUDIES OF SUCCESS STORIES

This section feature case studies about provision of metacognitive skills and transitions to digital
education in adult education centres from across Europe, 1 case study per partner programme
member country (34).

5.1 SLOVAKIA

University Students & Their Ability to Perform Self-Regulated Online Learning
Under the COVID-19 Pandemic

The COVID-19 pandemic has affected all aspects of the educational system, including students’
learning styles, which are heavily dependent on self-regulated studying strategies and motivation.
The purpose of this study was to discover whether Central European students, in this case the Slovak

and Czech students, were able to perform self-regulated learning during online learning under the
COVID-19 pandemic to achieve their learning goals and improve academic performance, as well as
to propose a few practical recommendations how to develop and maintain students’ self-regulation
learning in this new online environment. The methodology was based on a questionnaire survey
conducted among 268 students at two Central European universities in February and March 2021.

The findings indicate that Central European students seemed to be able to perform their online self-
study, especially regarding personal competencies, meaningfulness, and motivation. They reported

higher awareness of their strengths and weaknesses in learning, time management, and/or the 28
usefulness of making an effort to study. However, the findings reveal an urgent need for more work
to be done in the area of metacognitive strategies, such as reflective and critical thinking, analysing
and evaluating. In this respect, the teacher’s role is replaceable since s/he serves as a facilitator and
promotes these metacognitive strategies by providing students with constructive feedback,
monitoring their learning, reviewing their progress, and/or providing opportunities to reflect on
their learning. There were not any striking differences between the Czech and Slovak students.
Nevertheless, Slovak students (females in particular) seemed to be more self-disciplined and goal-
oriented in their learning.

Why is relevant for adult educators and adult education centers?

Why this case study is a success / best practice?

The findings described in the study indicate that Central European students seemed to be able to
perform their online self-regulated study, especially as far as personal competence, meaningfulness,
and motivation are concerned. And this is generally true regardless students’ gender, year of study
and nationality. Overall, students reported higher awareness of their strengths and weaknesses in
learning, time management, and/or usefulness of making an effort to study. In addition, they feel
able to interconnect the knowledge of one subject with the knowledge of another subject, which
confirms their awareness of interdisciplinary knowledge.