Explicit metacognitive instruction is hypothesised to have positive consequences for the
cognitive processing skills of learners, resulting in improved academic performance. Such
instruction is likely to be beneficial across the curriculum, but particularly for reading, as low
literacy levels are reported in South Africa. A paradigm shift in instruction appears necessary
to enhance the current literacy levels in South African schools. This study examined the
impact of a Cognitive Enrichment Advantage (CEA), metacognitive intervention on reading
comprehension in 83 Grade six learners in two mainstream government schools in Gauteng.
Its theoretical and conceptual basis was informed by Vygotsky’s theory of the Zone of
Proximal Development and Feuerstein’s theory of Structural Cognitive Modifiability. The
study utilised a pre-and post-test, mixed methods, quasi-experimental and cross-lagged
research design. The metacognitive intervention was presented to two groups within the
experimental school, each with 28 learners, who received the intervention over two phases in
the school year (Group one in Term 1 and Group 2 in Term 2). The control school received
only regular classroom teaching and served as a comparison against which the experimental
school could be measured. Standardised quantitative data was collected from the Cognitive
Assessment System (CAS) and the Joint Education Trust (JET) reading comprehension test.
Qualitative data was collected from semi-structured interviews, sentence completion tasks,
focus groups and feedback from the teacher and parents, pre- and post-intervention. The
results indicated that the learners in the experimental school did not show any statistically
significant differences in their reading comprehension or CAS scores following the
intervention, when compared to the control school. However, the qualitative data revealed
increased awareness of the effects of the metacognitive instruction on reading in particular
and on learning in general. The intervention also provided opportunities for the learners to
reflect on their thinking processes through group discussions, as well as individual tasks.
Transfer of skills taught in the intervention could not be confirmed, as post-test results may
reflect application when assessed immediately following the intervention, but may not
necessarily indicate precise or sustained transfer. Nevertheless, increased learner, parent and
teacher metacognitive awareness was evident in the qualitative responses following the
intervention and this provides an indication for how educational pedagogy in South Africa
could be adjusted. Metacognitive instruction promotes reflection, evaluation and monitoring
of thinking and learning processes which may not be observed on the quantitative measures
over the duration of this study, but may need a longer period to become consolidated and
transfer to other areas. This study contributed to the knowledge base regarding cognitive
education, by demonstrating the qualitative value of explicit metacognitive instruction in
reading comprehension.
| Identifer | oai:union.ndltd.org:netd.ac.za/oai:union.ndltd.org:wits/oai:wiredspace.wits.ac.za:10539/11616 |
| Date | 05 July 2012 |
| Creators | Moonsamy, Sharon |
| Source Sets | South African National ETD Portal |
| Language | English |
| Detected Language | English |
| Type | Thesis |
| Format | application/pdf, application/pdf |
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