Abstract
The purpose of this longitudinal study was to explore the development of metacognitive knowledge in primary grade children (6–9 years, n=196) from pre-school to third grade. Knowledge about cognitive processes was obtained from children’s oral explanations. The results indicated that the average metacognitive knowledge of the primary grade children developed significantly during the first three school years. The children knew much about simple factors and strategies influencing cognitive activities, but after the first three school years, more complex strategies still remained unfamiliar to them. Moreover, the content analyses of children’s oral explanations revealed interesting differences in children’s metacognitive thinking. There appeared to be two groups of children with either non-developing or developing explanations. In addition, the children understood mental processing better in memory and learning activities, whereas comprehension processes were largely unknown to them.
Résumé
L’objectif de cette étude longitudinale a été d’examiner le développement de la connaissance métacognitive chez 196 enfants scolarisés âgés de 6 à 9 ans (correspondant en Finlande aux grandes classes de la maternelle ou enseignement pré-scolaire et aux trois premières classes d’école primaire). On a obtenu les données sur les processus cognitifs des enfants à partir de leurs explications orales. Les résultats indiquent qu’en moyenne, la connaissance métacognitive de ces enfants s’est considérablement développée pendant les trois premières années de leur scolarité (de 7 à 9 ans). Les enfants connaissent en effet beaucoup sur des facteurs simples et des stratégies qui influencent les activités cognitives, mais après ces trois ans de scolarité, ils ne se familiarisent pas avec des stratégies plus complexes. En outre, l’analyse du contenu des explications orales des enfants montre des différences intéressantes quant à leur réflexion métacognitive. Deux groupes d’enfants se distinguent alors: L’un avec des explications en cours de développement et l’autre avec des explications demeurées inchangées. Enfin, les enfants comprennent mieux les processus mentaux quand ceux-ci sont liés aux activités de mémorisation et d’apprentissage, tandis que les processus de compréhension leur sont plus ou moins inconnus.
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This Research was supported by Grant No. 1071265 (1991-30.6.1994) and Grant No. 4131 (1.7.1994–1996) from the Council for Social Sciences Research, the Academy of Finland, to the second author and Pekka Niemi.
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Annevirta, T., Vauras, M. Metacognitive knowledge in primary grades: A longitudinal study. Eur J Psychol Educ 16, 257–282 (2001). https://doi.org/10.1007/BF03173029
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/BF03173029