LINKING METACOGNITIVE AWARENESS AND LEARNING MOTIVATION: A STUDY OF PROSPECTIVE TEACHERS IN PAKISTAN

Abstract

The purpose of this research is to examine the relationship between metacognitive awareness and learning motivation among prospective teachers' . Using a five-point Likert scale, 400 prospective teachers in Pakistan's Lahore province were given standardized questionnaires.  These individuals attended universities that were both public and private. Learning motivation was assessed using a modified version of a general learning motivation scale, and metacognitive awareness was measured using a short-form inventory developed specifically for this purpose. To ensure that the tools were content-valid, three researchers from the University of the Punjab's Institute of Education and Research were called upon.The questionnaire demonstrated a high degree of internal consistency, as indicated by Cronbach's alpha, which was 0.84 overall and 0.70 to 0.85 for subscales. We utilized a multi-stage sampling approach.: four universities were randomly selected, followed by the identification of education departments within these institutions, and then the random selection of students from these departments. Using descriptive statistics, we examined the demographic data, and Pearson's correlation coefficient was used to investigate the association between learning motivation and metacognitive awareness. To search for gender and school type differences, we utilized independent samples t-tests.The findings revealed a significant positive correlation between learning motivation and metacognitive awareness, highlighting the crucial role of metacognitive abilities in fostering motivation. Minor differences in strategy use were observed across gender and institutional sectors; however, the overarching result emphasized that enhancing metacognitive awareness can substantially improve learning motivation and educational outcomes. In light of these findings, the study underscores the importance of designing interventions aimed at cultivating metacognitive awareness among prospective teachers to enhance teaching effectiveness and promote students' academic achievement