Measure of metacognition in scientific problem-solving at the tertiary level

Abstract

The aim of this paper is to present the findings from a cross-sectional study of reading motivation among 10- to 14-year-old Hungarian schoolchildren. On the basis of the relevant literature, a possible model of domain-specific reading motivation was outlined consisting of eleven components: (1) reading self-concept; (2) social motives for reading; (3) attitudes towards recreational reading; (4) attitudes towards reading for school; (5) value attributed to reading; (6) mastery goals for reading; (7) performance goals for reading; (8) work-avoidant goals for reading; (9) flow in reading; (10) antiflow in reading; and (11) reading self-efficacy. Reading motives were measured with a questionnaire including 65 Likert-type items. The Cronbach’s alpha indices for the subscales ranged between 0.6 and 0.9. Participants were 755 Hungarian primary schoolchildren from Year 4 (ages 10-11; n=218), Year 6 (ages 12-13; n=278) and Year 8 (ages 14-15; n=259). Results show that reading motives either stagnate or gradually decrease with age. Attitudes towards reading for school and mastery goals for reading are significantly lower at higher ages. The difference is the greatest between Years 4 and 6, thus highlighting the negative effects of the transition from lower to upper school, which occurs in Year 5 in the Hungarian school system. Our data also suggest that there is a moderate to strong relationship (r=0.10–0.66) between the individual motives for reading in both lower and upper years. However, the relationships between these motives are different in nature in the different years. Significant gender differences were found for all but one reading motive, with girls exhibiting more positive motivational beliefs for reading. As regards parental backround, children of parents with lower qualifications reported lower reading self-concept, less positive attitudes towards recreational reading and more frequent antiflow experiences during reading.