We are not short of studies which focus on student learning, from kindergarten through to 'silver surfers.' There also exists a wealth of studies exploring student perceptions of their learning, although the focus tends to be the discipline from which they originate: distance learners, language learning, problem-based learning, learning in Iran, web-based learning, learning communities. These studies tend to address how learners perceive the learning situation or environment and the effects it has on their learning, rather than asking them about their learning, plain and simple.
Two major studies in recent years had learning at their core: the Learning to Learn in Schools Project (started in 2000 with Phase 4 ongoing) and the Learning How to Learn Project (2001-2005). Both explored the factors which influence pupils' learning and both considered the effectiveness of strategies employed to improve learning. In each, part of the research programme sought pupils' views on their learning, though within the context of the interventions in the projects. These are discussed in more detail in Section 2.2.
What seems to be lacking is pupils' views of their learning out of context; in other words how they view their learning in general, across the board wherever and whenever it happens. This study seeks to begin that process.