An Analysis of Self-Directed Learning Skills among Middle School Students: Cognitive, Metacognitive, and Affective Skills
Keywords:
Self-directed learning, Cognitive skills, Metacognitive skills, Affective skillsAbstract
Self-directed learning is widely recognized as a core competence in secondary education; however, empirical evidence on its multidimensional structure remains limited in under-researched educational contexts. In particular, quantitative studies examining cognitive, metacognitive, and affective components of self-directed learning among middle school. This study investigated the level of self-directed learning skills among 110 sixth-grade students from four classes at a private secondary school in Mongolia. Data were collected using a self-directed learning skills questionnaire grounded in established theoretical frameworks. The instrument demonstrated good internal consistency, with a Cronbach’s alpha of 0.86 for the overall scale and acceptable reliability for the subscales (α = 0.75–0.82). Descriptive statistics and one-way analyses of variance (ANOVA) were employed to examine differences in self-directed learning skills across classes. The results showed that students’ cognitive, metacognitive, and affective self-directed learning skills, as well as the overall self-directed learning score, were at comparable levels across the four classes. One-way ANOVA revealed no statistically significant differences among classes for any component (p > .05). Effect size estimates (η²) were small, indicating minimal practical differences between groups. These findings provide empirical evidence on the multidimensional profile of self-directed learning skills among sixth-grade students within the studied educational context. The results should be interpreted within the limits of the study sample and offer a data-driven basis for further research on self-directed learning in secondary education.
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