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The study was guided by metacognition theory by Flavell (1979).

The study was guided by metacognition theory by Flavell (1979). Flavell proposed a formal model of metacognitive monitoring which incorporated metacognitive knowledge and metacognitive experiences. Flavell identified the first category as metacognitive knowledge. He defined metacognitive knowledge as acquired knowledge or beliefs on factors that affect our cognitive activities. Metacognitive knowledge is divided into three categories: Person variables, task variables and strategy variables.

The person category of knowledge is the general knowledge about how humans learn and about a person's knowledge and beliefs about him/herself as a learner. An example is the belief such as a person believing that she/he can learn better by listening than by reading. Such beliefs about oneself as a learner may enhance or hinder performance in learning.

The task category of metacognitive knowledge is knowledge about the nature of a task and its processes and demands. This knowledge guides the individual in the management of a task, and provides information about the degree of success that he/she is likely to produce. Task information can be adequate or inadequate.

The strategy category of metacognitive knowledge includes knowledge about cognitive and metacognitive strategies, as well as knowledge of when and where these strategies can be used. This involves identifying goals, for example comprehension, the sub-goals and selection of cognitive strategies/processes to use in achieving the goal.

In discussing metacognitive strategies, Flavell (1979) states that, for a reader to achieve a goal, she/he depends heavily on both metacognitive knowledge and metacognitive experience. Flavell states that metacognitive experiences are items of metacognitive knowledge which may include evaluation on how far one is in completing the task. It may also be a feeling of confusion which a reader may or may not want to act on. Metacognitive experience helps the reader know whether what they are reading makes sense. When they lose meaning of the text, they often apply one or more reading strategies to help them regain the meaning of what they were reading. The current study did not study metacognitive experiences as a variable because according to Flavell, its part of Metacognitive knowledge items.

This theory was extended by Brown, (1987). She said that metacognition consisted of two components namely: knowledge about cognition and regulation of cognition. She defined knowledge of cognition as information that human thinkers have concerning their own cognitive processes. Regulation of cognition was defined as activities used to regulate and oversee learning. These activities may include planning activities, monitoring activities during learning and checking outcomes at the end of the task. According to Brown (1987), compared with features of knowledge about cognition,

regulation of cognition was considered to be unstable and also age independent. This extension of the theory by Brown, 1987 also informed the researcher’s classification of metacognition components into metacognitive knowledge and reading strategy use.

In relation to the current study, the theory explains the function of metacognitive knowledge and use of reading strategies in enhancing reading comprehension. According to Flavell et al., (2002), skilled readers have more knowledge on their reading abilities (person knowledge), purpose and demands of the text/task at hand (task knowledge), and the reading strategies available and their appropriate use in achieving a cognitive goal (strategy knowledge). Metacognitive theory proposes that, metacognitive knowledge leads to metacognitive experience. Through metacognitive experience, a reader who possesses a strong metacognitive knowledge is able to use reading strategies effectively to overcome barriers. This in turn leads to better reading comprehension. This suggests that metacognitive knowledge and reading strategy use may jointly influence reading comprehension.

This theory was used successfully by Mwaniki (2015) as a guide to her study on metacognition and attitude towards reading as predictors of reading comprehension among class six pupils in Dagoreti Division in Nairobi. Although these pupils were younger than those in the current study, Flavell (1979) did not limit the application of this theory to a particular age group. The theory, therefore, adequately guided the current study in the investigation of the correlation between metacognitive knowledge, cognitive

reading strategy use and reading comprehension of form three students in Kiambu County, Kenya.

1.6.2 Conceptual Framework

Figure 1.1 shows that the main variables of the study were: Metacognitive knowledge and cognitive reading strategy use as the predictor variables and reading comprehension as the outcome variable. It was hypothesized that reading comprehension was influenced by metacognitive knowledge sub scales (person knowledge, task knowledge, and strategy knowledge) as well as the use of different sub scales of cognitive reading strategies. A student with high scores in metacognitive knowledge sub scales and in the three sub scales of cognitive strategy use is likely to have a good reading comprehension. In contrast, a student with low scores in metacognitive knowledge sub scales (person knowledge, task knowledge, and strategy knowledge) and cognitive strategy use in the three sub scales (global reading strategy use, problem solving reading strategy use and support reading strategy use) is likely to have a poor reading comprehension. Metacognitive knowledge and cognitive reading strategy use were hypothesized to interact to influence the outcome of reading comprehension. Thus, a student with high scores in metacognitive knowledge sub scales was likely to use cognitive strategies in the three sub scales more and effectively. This would then lead to good performance in reading comprehension. On the other hand, a student with low scores in metacognitive knowledge sub scales was likely to use cognitive strategies in the three sub scales less and ineffectively. This student would therefore perform poorly

in reading comprehension. Gender as an intervening variable, was hypothesized to bring about differences in metacognitive knowledge, cognitive reading strategy use and reading comprehension performance.

Predictor Variables Outcome Variable

Interaction

Direction of relationship Figure 1.1. Conceptual Framework Source: Researcher, 2018 Metacognitive Knowledge  Person-knowledge  Task knowledge  Strategy knowledge Cognitive Reading Strategy use  Global reading strategy use  Support reading strategy use  Problem-solving

reading strategy use

Reading comprehension Gender  Boy  Girl 

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