Metacognition and reading awareness among samples of nine‐year‐olds in two cities

Summary

This short report investigates children's metacognitive awareness and reading. It derives from a larger project which is seeking to understand how literacy and learning are conceptualized by pupils and teachers and, more particularly, to understand how pedagogy supports (and hinders) the acquisition of metacognitive awareness and learning strategies among nine‐year‐olds. It addresses the question: what metacognitive reading awareness have English and Irish pupils?; and a further question probed is: how does this awareness vary according to reading ability, country and primary classroom? A brief review of some relevant literature con‐textualizes the empirical study which is based on semi‐structured interviews with 60 pupils in schools located in urban areas of disadvantage in Leeds and Dublin.

Keywords:

• metacognition
• reading
• learning