ABSTRACT
While metacognition has been discussed in educational research for some years, Physical Education has been slow to acknowledge and adopt the ideas emerging from such research. There is a distinct lack of Physical Education research in this area even though it has been argued that metacognition may be the pivot or key to pupils’ learning processes (Nisbet and Shucksmith, 1986) if learning is viewed as active and strategic (Luke and Hardy, 1996). It is reported that by having efficient metacognitive ability pupils are able to learn material faster, understand it better and retain it for longer (Derry and Murphy, 1986; Pressley, Goodchild, Fleet, Zajchowski and Evans, 1989). Furthermore, the development of metacognitive ability may increase pupils’ control and responsibility over their own learning processes (Nisbet and Shucksmith, 1986).
