Relationship between the factors influencing online help-seeking and self-regulated learning among Taiwanese preservice teachers

When the information that preservice teachers require to solve problems is inadequately provided by mentors, preservice teachers should seek help from personals outside the practicum school. Online help-seeking provides preservice teachers with useful information to self-regulate their follow-up behaviors for resolving problems. However, preservice teachers do not necessarily seek help. This study investigated the relationship between the psychological factors influencing the online help-seeking and subsequent self-regulated learning of preservice teachers. Valid questionnaires were collected from 462 Taiwanese preservice teachers during December 2015 and were tested by a second-order structural equation model. The evaluative results exhibited an excellent fit in a second-order factor model on online help-seeking, and established a structural equation model on the relationship between seeking help online and self-regulated learning. The analytical results suggested that perceptions of self-efficacy, epistemological belief, and perceived benefits regarding online help-seeking among preservice teachers were the factors related to the actual pursuit of online help, and affected their subsequent self-regulated learning performances. Thus, preservice teachers should be encouraged to seek external help via online communication when mentoring failed practices, especially for self-regulators with low self-efficacy and weak epistemological beliefs, as well as for those who do not perceive benefits from online help-seeking.