Metacognitive Abilities and Scientific Aptitude of Senior Secondary School Students in relation to their School Climate, self-regulated learning and Attitude towards e-Learning

Abstract

This research investigates the metacognitive abilities and scientific aptitude of senior secondary school students in relation to their school climate, self-regulated learning, and attitude towards e-learning. The study employs a descriptive survey method and a quantitative research approach, focusing on a population of senior secondary school students in the Ghaziabad district of Uttar Pradesh. The population includes 750 students from both government and private schools, ensuring diverse representation. To achieve a representative sample, a stratified sampling technique was utilized, dividing the population into subgroups based on specific characteristics and drawing proportionate samples from each stratum. The research tools included the Metacognition Inventory by Punita Govil (2011), a self-developed Scientific Aptitude Test, the School Climate Scale by S.P. Singh and A. Imam (2015), the Self-Regulated Learning Scale by Madhu Gupta and Dimple Mehtani (2017), and a self-developed Attitude towards E-Learning Scale. Data analysis included measures of central tendency, variation, and percentile scores, supplemented by t-tests and a three-way ANOVA (2x2x2) to examine the interaction effects of school climate, self-regulated learning, attitude towards e-learning, types of schools, and gender on the dependent variables. The study revealed that senior secondary school students' metacognitive abilities and scientific aptitude are significantly influenced by various factors. For metacognitive abilities, significant differences were found based on school climate, types of schools, gender, self-regulated learning, and attitudes towards e-learning. Notably, significant interaction effects were observed for school climate and types of schools, types of schools and gender, self-regulated learning and types of schools, and attitudes towards e-learning and gender. However, no significant interaction effects were found for school climate and gender, self-regulated learning and gender, attitudes towards e-learning and types of schools, and the combined effect of school climate, types of schools, and gender.