ABSTRACT
Ever since metacognition was first introduced by Flavell (1976) and Brown (1978), developmental and educational psychologists have been interested in how it develops. Descriptions of developmental changes in metacognitive skills are widely available, but much less is known about factors influencing those changes. In 1985, Flavell wrote, “School and other life experiences do not advance the child’s metacognitive development as fast or as far as might be desirable, and there is a growing feeling that we should try to find ways to teach it more directly and systematically” (p. 263). Despite more than two decades of research on the topic, there is still a lack of information on effective ways to facilitate metacognitive development. As Pressley and Block (2002) put it, “There is just not enough known about how to develop readers who monitor well and who, in turn, self-regulate their comprehension processes well” (p. 387). This chapter presents current theory and research on developmental differences in children’s
reading-related metacognitive skills, examines sources of influence on metacognitive development, and considers the implications for metacognitively oriented reading instruction.
