Secondary-school pupils’ metacognition for spelling : much ado about nothing?

Abstract:In this study, we look at Flemish last-year secondary-school pupils' spelling skills and the possible correlation with their metacognition for spelling. How do Flemish secondary-school pupils perform in spelling? And how can this possibly be related to their metacognition? Researchers such as [1] have stressed that metacognition can play a significant role in the students' own learning processes. The aim of this paper is to overhaul spelling didactics, with a particular focus on the power of metacognitive skills in spelling instruction [2]. The paper examines the metacognitive beliefs of Flemish last-year secondary-school pupils (n = 99) in relation to their spelling performance. The participants were first asked to sit a spelling test that consisted of 30 rule-based spelling items. For each item, they indicated how confident they were about their spelling (very confident, more or less confident, and not confident). The combination of the (in) correct spelling and their sense of self-efficacy resulted in a metacognitive score. The pupils sat a good spelling test, attaining an average score of 24.7/30 (82%). In 88% of all cases, pupils felt 'very confident' and 'more or less confident' about their performance. Only in 6% of the correct answers did pupils indicate that they were 'not confident'. The metacognitive score shows that the self-efficacy for correct answers is considerably higher than the self-efficacy for incorrect answers. The second test, focusing on the detection of non-rule based spelling items in 20 sentences, confirmed the findings of the first test: the average was 14.2/20 (71%) and in 65% of all cases, pupils felt 'more or less confident' to 'very confident' about their spelling performance. The results of this study, however, contradict previous research [3] that showed that pupils generally display rather low or even negative metacognition levels. Their sense of self-efficacy for spelling is rather high, which suggests that their metacognitive skills are not 'underdeveloped', as has been claimed by teachers [4]. The results are in line with those of first-year university students in general Students who spell well appear to perceive themselves as competent/better spellers [5]. Future spelling instruction should focus on those areas of spelling where pupils feel less confident.

ISBN:9788460888604

Publication year:2016

BOF-keylabel:yes

IOF-keylabel:yes

Accessibility:Closed