Development of Metacognitive Skills in 11 – 14-Year-Old Students in а Non-Formal Educational Environment

The purpose of this study was to determine and assess the impact of non-formal educational activities on the development of metacognitive skills in middle school students (11- to 14-year-old). The research was conducted with 48 students (N= 48) from 5th-grade to 7th-grade classes at urban public middle schools in Gabrovo and Sofia (Bulgaria). The participants were divided into two groups – experimental group (n = 22) and control group (n = 26). Both groups were assigned to study the same biology learning content during the school year 2021/2022 but under different conditions. The students in the experimental group were explicitly taught metacognitive skills focused on using the strategy of “variables control”, while performing scientific inquiry in non-formal setting – in a Children’s University Foundation. The students in the control group were taught biology topics in a traditional classroom environment without application of metacognitive strategies during the scientific inquiry. Quantitative measures and statistical methods (SPSS) were employed to analyze the data related to participants metacognitive skills (planning, monitoring and evaluation). The results showed that the quality of metacognitive skills exhibited by the experimental group exceeded that of a control group, highlighting the power of non-formal education as a valuable mechanism in the development of students’ metacognition.