Effects of Self-Regulated Learning on Academic Achievement in Economics among In-School Adolescents for Sustainable Development in Abia State The non-equivalent pretest-post-test control group design is a type of pretest post-test control group design that utilizes a 2 × 2 factorial matrix. The study was guided by the following two research questions and two null hypotheses. A total of 116 participants — eight males and eight females from four intact classes (two hundred Level students) in four co-educational secondary schools within two Education Zones that were randomly selected through a multistage sampling procedure. A total of 427 SS2 in-school adolescents aged 16—19 Form Two students (males = 209; females =218) who performed below average in Economics, as reported by the State Secondary Education Management Board (SSEMB) for the academic session of 2025/2026 were sampled. The self-regulated learning (SRL) strategy was given to one experimental group, while the other group acted as a control with gender being the moderating variable. The Economics Achievement Test (EAT), was constructed by the researcher and subsequently validated for content validity by three experts: a specialist in Economics, Measurement and Evaluation from Michael Okpara University of Agriculture, Umudike. Kuder-Richardson determined the reliability of the EAT (0.79). Of the six weeks of treatment with two sessions per week. Data from routine Economics teachers functioning as research assistants were analyzed using mean, standard deviation and 2 × 2 ANCOVA at the.05 significance level via EAT. Results showed that students in the SRL group exhibited significant improvement in Economics achievement, but only low achieving students. No significant difference found from the mean achievement scores of male and female students who were taught with SRL strategy (both received similar benefits). The study also recommended that teachers be trained to promote self-regulate learning among in-school adolescents and enhance the skill sets needed to implement SRL strategies irrespective of gender for a sustainable development.

Keywords: Self-regulated learning, academic achievement, Economics, for sustainable development.