An examination of pupils' metacognitive ability in physical education

The objectives of the present study were to examine the type and quality of metacognitive ability that pupils bring with them to Physical Education lessons, and the potential influences upon, and the effects of, pupils' metacognitive ability. In addition, there was an examination of whether pupils' metacognitive ability could be developed in Physical Education. The research programme involved four stages and a total of six schools. Stage one to three involved validating classroom-based literature in Physical Education, the development of metacognitive ability assessment procedures and a pilot study. Stage four of the study (the main study) examined Year 7 and Year 9 pupils' metacognitive ability both before and after one of three possible intervention settings: (1) a control setting; (2) a self-questioning metacognitive strategy setting (Meta); or (3) a self-questioning metacognitive strategy, metacognitive knowledge of person and strategy variables and specific cognitive strategies setting (Meta+). The main data-gathering tool in stage four was a specifically designed questionnaire, supported by semi-structured interviews and ethnographic data relevant to the schools, teachers, classes and lessons involved in the study. From the pre-intervention data collected in the main study it would appear that pupils aged between eleven and fourteen struggle to develop efficient metacognitive ability and that they lack even the most fundamental necessities of effective learning such as understanding the purpose of a task. The pupils' rnetacognitive ability seemed to be influenced by a range of contextual and personal variables and there was an interacting relationship between their metacognitive ability and concepts such as volitional control, locus of control, motivational orientation and self-efficacy. The intervention treatment settings seemed more beneficial to the development of pupils' metacognitive ability compared to a control setting, although the influence of contextual and personal variables still had a significant bearing on this development.