Student-centered curriculum management predicts self-regulated learning among Generation Z students in Islamic higher education in Sumatra, Indonesia

This study examines factors influencing students’ self-regulation using Partial Least Squares–Structural Equation Modeling (PLS-SEM) within the Self-Regulated Learning (SRL) framework, which conceptualizes self-regulation as a cyclical process comprising forethought, performance, and self-reflection. The proposed model integrates Instructional Support and Faculty Facilitation (ISFF), Curriculum Relevance and Flexibility (RFC), and Student Participation and Voice (SVP), with Gender tested as a moderating variable. Data were collected through an online survey of 508 students from Islamic universities across Sumatra, Indonesia. PLS-SEM was employed to assess both measurement and structural models. The findings indicate strong explanatory power, with R² values exceeding 0.70 for all endogenous constructs. ISFF emerged as the most robust and consistent predictor across all three SRL phases, underscoring the critical role of instructional support and lecturer facilitation in students’ learning planning, execution, and reflection. RFC showed a positive effect mainly on the forethought phase, with limited influence on performance and self-reflection. SVP negatively affected forethought but positively and significantly influenced performance and self-reflection, suggesting that student participation operates differently across SRL phases. Gender had no direct effect on self-regulation; however, it moderated the relationships between ISFF and SVP, as well as between ISFF and self-regulation. Theoretically, this study reinforces the contextual and phase-specific nature of self-regulation. Practically, the findings highlight the importance of adaptive instructional design, prioritizing instructional support while aligning student participation with specific stages of self-regulated learning.