The goal of the research is to look at the developmental path of Collodi’s hero Pinocchio, from egocentric to self-responsible in setting goals, monitoring, regulating and controlling his own behaviour, learning and motivation through the prism of the SRL model (Pintrich, 2004). By applying the qualitative methodology, we have tried to examine whether and in what way the teaching practice of SRL encourages students. The research corpus from which we sample units for qualitative thematic analysis constitutes the very content of the story. The text of the novel is, at the same time, a medium for viewing the representation of SRL elements in said content and teaching practice through the eyes of children (49 second-grade students) and teachers (7) from primary schools in Podgorica through focus group and individual interviews.The research results indicate clear SRL developmental stages of the main character in the story, according to the proposed model. Children recognise his goals, intentions, and values, supporting their insights with examples from the work itself, but also from their own experience. Teachers cite reasons for the inadequate application of SRL in teaching, such as their own insufficient preparation, overprotective upbringing of children, and beliefs about a desirable model of behaviour.
