Differentiation and promoting self-regulation are two topics which are considered both important in the field of education, but also complex to implement by teachers. Even though a lot of research has already been done about the topics solely, a gap in the literature exists about the relation between these two topics. This study investigated if there was a relationship between teachers’ differentiation activities, and their promotion of self-regulation in the classroom. In total, 16 fourth, fifth, and sixth grade teachers, from seven primary schools located in the eastern part of the Netherlands
participated in this study. All participants were observed during a math lesson on their differentiation activities and their promotion of self-regulation. Results showed a strong positive correlation
between teachers’ differentiation activities and their promotion of self-regulation. Even though there was a big variation in scores on promoting self-regulation, the results confirm earlier research about the rarity of explicit strategy instruction. The low scores can be explained by a possible lack of knowledge about the topic of promoting self-regulation, but also by a lack of using all three types of strategies, originating from the three layered model of self-regulation. This study found that the relationship between differentiation and promoting self-regulation is that by promoting self-
regulation, more opportunities (e.g., more time) can be created to differentiate. This fills up the gap in the literature about the connection between these two variables. It and can also have a practicably value for teachers and teacher educators who can use this knowledge and make the implementation of differentiation less complex while students become more autonomous.
