This research incorporated more than 50,000 studies involving millions of students, for which Hattie certainly needs to be congratulated.

Under the heading of Variance of Student Achievement, Hattie reported that in terms of influence on learning, this meta-analysis study found that students were responsible for 50 per cent of what takes place in the classroom.

In relation to the teacher, they had a 30 per cent influence on the learning behaviours of the students. As for the school itself, and the peers of the students, Hattie reported that the school environment and a students’ peers, each had a 10 per cent influence on learning.

This important and profound finding also supports the research of William Glasser, Anita Woolfolk, Cathleen Stasz, and others.

Intrinsic motivation

Witing in Control Theory, William Glasser argued that it was a student’s intrinsic motivation and personal attitude that had the most influence over what they would do, say, learn and achieve.

By examining student behaviours and attitudes to their learning outcomes, Glasser found that unless a student was personally motivated to behave and to learn, there really was very little anyone else could do except support, encourage and continue to offer advice.

The only time this would change, according to Glasser, was if the student made the choice to engage in what the teacher was presenting to them.

Glasser was unambiguous in his view; the student is the one who is responsible for their behaviour and learning.

With this in mind, Glasser acknowledges that while there is no doubt that some teachers are more skillful at motivating than others, there is no teacher, no matter how skilled, who can teach a student who does not want to learn.

And whether we want to admit it or not, there are plenty of students who attend schools regularly who have little or no desire to learn what is being taught.

Glasser also contends there is no point in trying to force any student (or anyone else for that matter) to behave or to learn. Instead, one has to accept the premise that it is the student who is accountable for his or her own actions.

Ultimately, it is the student who decides how they want to behave. As such, and inevitably, students are accountable for their own attitudes, actions, behaviour, learning and their choices.

This axiomatic understanding is emphasised even further by Glasser, who points out that: “[we] can force … students to stay in school … but we can no more make those students work than we can make the proverbial horse drink even though we tether him to the watertrough.”

Self-management

In her research dealing specifically with student behaviour, Anita Woolfolk emphasised the importance of self-management. In a school setting, according to Woolfolk, self-management is about informing students that if they wish to advance and progress in their studies, it is they themselves who need to take control of and take responsibility for their own learning.

No one can learn for someone else

Adding to this, citing numerous other studies focusing on self-management, learning and personal responsibilities, Woolfolk notes the “responsibility and the ability to learn [remains] within the student, [no one can actually] learn for someone else.”

Therefore, it would be reasonable to confirm that learning is a journey of the self, by the self, through the self, and for the self.

Competencies

Citing many other studies, Woolfolk points out that self-managing students tend to demonstrate the following competencies:

  1. they have a greater sense of personal interest and positive engagement in their personal, social, academic and overall educational environment;
  2. they present positive behaviours that indicate they have a strong belief in their personal, social, academic and educational capabilities;
  3. they present high levels of self-efficacy, self-esteem and associated high levels of problem-solving skills and creativity;
  4. through the application of their own actions, they show they continually support and value their school environment;
  5. they tend to present behaviours that suggest that they not only enjoy all of their daily social and educational challenges, they are also willing to engage in what is required of them at school;
  6. they are willing to help others.

Profoundly, according to Woolfolk’s research, this relationship between student autonomy, self-management and their successful academic engagement tends “to hold through from first grade through to graduate school”.

The most effective learning

This assertion is further supported by Cathleen Stasz, who made it known that classrooms where the most effective learning was taking place were those in which the students were presenting positive attitudes and displayed self-motivated academic engagement, and in which all of the teachers “stressed the importance of students taking responsibility for their own learning”

However, there is no doubt that those around students, such as their family, teachers, their peers and friends can be there for the student, however, others can only provide support, encouragement, information and advice.

Glasser, Hattie and Woolfolk affirm, it is the student who must engage in the learning process to benefit from the information that is being presented.

Destiny

All of this does tend to confirm that it is the student who is ultimately responsible for his or her own thinking, behaviour, learning, choices, and whatever consequences follow.

All of this equates well with words of Ralph Waldo Emerson, who wrote: “The only person you are destined to become is the person you decide to be".