Exploring Metacognitive Awareness and Metaliteracy Skills Towards Becoming a Self-Determined Postgraduate Student: A Case Study

Research and scholarly output are essential in the advancement of knowledge and society as a whole. In South Africa, the Council for Higher Education (CHE) requires that learning and teaching at higher education institutions (HEIs) must be informed by research done by universities. With high dropout rates these aspirations are not attainable. The question that this study addresses is: firstly, what motivates emerging researchers and postgraduate students to enrol for research and postgraduate programmes at a South African higher education institution, and secondly, what motivates them to complete their studies. Following a qualitative approach, this case study explores self-determination awareness among a group of master’s students in a supervisory context. It interrogates requisite metaliteracy competencies and the core metacognitive attributes underpinning human motivation. The aim is to ascertain how students doing research could be supported and developed to become self-directed and motivated to conduct and complete quality research. The value of the study lies in adding new knowledge to an under-explored area and to propose steps to close the current gap.