The developmental nature of meta-cognition and the relationship between knowledge and control over time

Abstract

This study explored the development of meta-cognitive knowledge and control, the relationship between the two constructs, the types of strategy knowledge Chinese students consider valuable and comparisons with US children's knowledge of strategies at the third-grade level. One hundred and twenty students were randomly sampled from third-, fifth- and seventh-grade classes in China. Control was operationalised as comprehension monitoring and measured with CLOZE and Error Detection tasks, while awareness comprised declarative knowledge of strategies and was measured using an interview and a questionnaire. The findings indicated that knowledge of strategies and meta-cognitive control develop over time, but knowledge develops at a faster rate in comparison. The evaluation of the relationships between the constructs suggested that the measurement format affected the students' accessibility of the declarative knowledge. The Chinese students demonstrated similarities in their knowledge of useful strategies, with previewing and activating background knowledge as the most valued strategies. © United Kingdom Literacy Association 2009.