Self Concept and Metacognition in Ethnic Minorities

A study investigated the relationships between academic self-concepts, metacognitive problem solving, and ethnicity in entering college freshmen minority men and women. The study hypothesized, first, a positive relationship between metacognitive problem solving skills and academic self-concepts, and second that there would be ethnic differences between self-concepts and metacognition and the relationships between them. A sample of 214 urban university students (42 percent Black, 31 percent Hispanic, 18 percent Asian and 2 percent White). Students responded to several research instruments including: (1) a 42-item Likert scale assessing the types of and frequencies of metacognitive thinking; (2) an eight item instrument assessing students ' general academic self-concept; and (3) an instrument assessing self-concept in mathematics, English, science and social studies. The results indicated that despit