Investigating Developmental Trends in Metacognitive Knowledge with School-aged Children using Pupil Views Templates

Abstract

This thesis explores developmental trends in metacognitive knowledge with school-aged children using Pupil Views Templates (PVTs). PVTs were developed in the mid 2000s to explore pupil views of learning. Informed by the findings of previous research, the empirical data collection used a more systematic and stratified sampling technique. A systematic review of tools and methods to measure or assess metacognition was included as a way of codifying PVTs. The systematic review makes an original contribution to both this study and the field; in a field as vast as metacognition it provides a valuable summary.

The exploration of metacognitive knowledge is based on, but does not completely replicate, the pre-existing approach to coding PVTs. A rigorous examination of relevant literature rationalised and grounded the focus on metacognitive knowledge. This underscored ambiguity around defining metacognition, sub-divisions of it and crossover between these. Thus, the clarity of defining metacognition for and within this study was key.

The mixed method approach to PVT analysis was distinctive in its application of traditional statistical analysis and emergent interpretivist methods including word clouds. Analysis confirmed the utility of PVTs as a means to explore metacognition in school-aged children. It supported the assertion that PVTs are a tool that can be used with a wide range of ages to explore metacognitive knowledge, including children as young as four years old. There was evidence of developmental trends in metacognitive knowledge and indications to support inextricable links between underlying cognitive skills and metacognition. This study also showed the importance of considering how metacognition is explored; including the definition of metacognition applied, how it is operationalised and then analysed. If a study does not have clear links between the concept, its measurement and outcomes; it becomes difficult to determine validity and subsequent value both within and for the field.