Metacognitive self-regulation in middle school students: the role of positive emotions and intrinsic goal orientation

Objective The significance of self-regulated learning in knowledge construction has increasingly become a focal point for scholarly inquiry. This study investigated the associations among middle school students’ positive achievement emotions (enjoyment and pride), intrinsic goal orientation towards mathematics, and metacognitive self-regulation strategies. Furthermore, this study tested the mediating role of positive achievement emotions.Method This study used a sample of 1,713 middle school students. Data were collected using the Achievement Emotion, Mathematics Motivation, and Self-Regulatory Learning Strategies scales. The data were analysed using descriptive statistics, Pearson’s correlation, and Structural Equation Modelling (SEM).Results SEM showed that intrinsic goal orientation was related to metacognitive self-regulation both directly and indirectly through pride, but not through enjoyment, supporting a partial mediation model. The indirect association was modest, accounting for about 30% of the total association. Among the variables examined, intrinsic goal orientation showed the strongest overall association with metacognitive self-regulation.Conclusions These findings indicate that emotional and motivational factors should be considered together with metacognitive self-regulation strategies. Not all positive emotions relate equally to self-regulation: pride, but not enjoyment, helps explain how motivational orientation relates to strategic learning in mathematics. Future research and practice should distinguish between specific achievement emotions.