Studying the influence of developing metacognitive processes on students' academic performance (with the main focus on psychological disciplines)

Introduction. The article addresses the problem of improving the quality of initial teacher education, which is especially important in the conditions of increasing requirements for teachers’ proficiency and competence. In particular, the article investigates how the development of metacognitive processes influences students' learning outcomes. The purpose of the study is to examine the relationships between metacognitive processes of Education students and their academic performance in psychological disciplines. Materials and Methods. The article presents the study of Education students’ metacognitive processes, which involves using various methods and techniques based on the BACEIS cognitive model (Hartman H., Sternberg R.). The diagnostic part of the study consisted in didactic tests in psychological disciplines and a questionnaire of metacognitive involvement. In order to process the results, the rank correlation coefficient and the statistical criterion of signs were used. The study involved a total of 86 first- and second-year students studying Education (44.02.05, double-major programme). Results. The results of the study suggest that the majority of students demonstrate the average level of metacognitive processes; and indicators of metacognitive knowledge are slightly better developed than indicators of metacognitive regulation. Based on the results of the formative experiment, the authors evaluated the effectiveness of using the BACEIS cognitive model in order to develop indicators of metacognitive involvement. Moreover, the first stage of the diagnostic study revealed correlations between students' academic performance in psychological disciplines and metacognitive indicators. Nevertheless, despite the increase in metacognitive processes determined by thoroughly organized formative work, no significant increase in student academic performance was detected. Conclusions. Finally, the authors conclude that, despite the identified links between successful completion of the didactic test and high indicators of metacognitive processes, the increase in the level of metacognitive processes does not affect the learning outcomes in psychological disciplines.