A Convergent Parallel Study on the Relationship Between Metacognitive Skills and Language Awareness among Teacher Education Students

This study investigated the metacognitive skills and language awareness of teacher education students at Kapalong College of Agriculture, Sciences and Technology, addressing a gap in localized research on how these cognitive capacities interact in a rural college setting. Employing a mixed-methods design through a convergent parallel approach, the study involved 284 randomly selected students for the quantitative phase and 14 purposively chosen participants for the qualitative phase—7 for in-depth interviews and 7 for focused group discussions. Findings revealed that both metacognitive skills and language awareness were at high levels, with a significant positive relationship between them. Data from both quantitative and qualitative strands converged, underscoring that students with strong metacognitive skills demonstrated enhanced self-regulation, strategic language learning, and a sharper awareness of their strengths and areas for improvement. These insights highlight the importance of fostering metacognitive development in teacher education programs to support language learning. However, the study was limited to one institution, suggesting the need for broader research across varied educational contexts to generalize the findings.