Metacognitive Awareness and Academic Achievement: The Mediating Role of Students' Engagement
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Despite an ongoing reform and improvement of education in Ethiopia, quite a significant number of secondary students have been challenged by poor academic performance, which is often exhibited in low examination results and a higher school dropout rate. The purpose of this study was to examine the role of student engagement in the relationship between metacognitive awareness and academic achievement among secondary school students. The study utilized a correlational research design. Data were collected from 180 participants (male=79; female=101) selected through simple random sampling. Metacognitive awareness inventory and student engagement scale were used as a means of data collection. Descriptive analysis, correlation, stepwise multiple regression, and mediation analysis were carried out to respond to research questions. The results of the study showed that both metacognitive knowledge and regulation portrayed a statistically significant and positive correlation with academic achievement. This suggests that students with higher levels of metacognitive awareness (knowledge and regulation) tend to achieve higher academic success. The findings also indicated that metacognitive knowledge was significant and a main predictor of academic achievement among secondary school students. Moreover, findings from mediation analysis indicated that agency partially mediated the relationship between metacognitive knowledge and academic achievement. This implies that improving students’ knowledge of cognition, connection with their school, and curiosity about their learning tasks can improve their academic achievement.
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