Self-Theories Motivate Self-Regulated Learning

In self-regulated learning, students use their repertoire of strategies to guide and enhance their learning process. Without these strategies, they cannot effectively harness their cognitive skills or their motivation for skill acquisition. Now, it is often assumed that once students have a well-stocked arsenal of strategies, they are all set, but this is far from the case. In our work, we see many highly able students abandon these strategies just when they are most needed. Why does this happen?