Metacognition and Academic Performance of Rural Adolescents

Abstract The present study was undertaken to study the impact of metacognition on academic performance of rural adolescents (13-16 years). The study was carried out in rural schools of block-I, Ludhiana District. The sample comprised of 240 rural adolescents equally distributed over four grades (7th, 8th, 9th and 10th grade), two sexes and two socio-economic groups i.e. middle and low socio-economic group. Metacognitive skills of the subjects were assessed using a self-structured Questionnaire adapted from Metacognition Inventory and Metacognitive Awareness Inventory. To assess the academic performance of the subjects, the aggregate percentage of marks obtained by them in the last school examination was procured from the concerned teachers. Results revealed that the major proportion of subjects with high level of metacognition also performed above average in academics. Further, analysis depicted that both the components of metacognition viz. ‘Knowledge of Cognition’ and ‘Regulation of Cognition’ significantly contributed towards the academic performance of the adolescents.