EXCELLENCE-BASED PREDICTORS OF UNDERGRADUATE STUDENTS� METACOGNITIVE AWARENESS

Abstract

Metacognitive processes influence not only success in learning, but also contribute to career success. One of the main aims of education is the improvement of higher-order cognitive abilities like metacognition. Earlier studies demonstrated that extracurricular activities, such as experiences acquired during competitions, improve metacognitive skills. The aim of our correlational, cross-sectional study is the establishment of the explanatory power of different types and levels of competitions for the variability of metacognitive awareness. Students of Babe?-Bolyai University participated in the study, their demographic and competition-related characteristics were recorded, and metacognitive awareness was assessed via the Metacognitive Awareness Inventory. Based on our hierarchical regression model, controlling demographical variables, participation in competitions explain 32.9% of the variance of metacognitive awareness. Participation in institution-level competitions, art and sports competition attendance are not significant predictors of metacognitive awareness, but participation in science subjects and humanities county level or national Olympiads have a significant unique contribution to the model. Our results suggest that science subjects and humanities competition attendance empowers students with experiences which may contribute to the progress of their metacognitive knowledge and regulation strategies.