Perceptions and Attitudes of Saudi Arabian Female Students’ Metacognition for Higher Education

This research examines the perceptions and attitudes of Saudi Arabian female students’ metacognition for higher education. The problem statement of this research will focus on the extrinsic factors that hinder Saudi female students from continuing their higher education. The purpose of this study is to examine different extrinsic and intrinsic motivational factors that could facilitate pursuing higher education for Saudi female students. This study also will examine to what extent motivational factors such as self-efficacy, attributions, and self-regulation of learning contribute to the pursuit of higher education by Saudi Arabia’s female graduates. This study is an ethnographical research following the mixed methods design that combines quantitative and qualitative data collection and analysis. The methodology used in this study is a closed-ended e-survey and interviews for Saudi postgraduate females of the University of Dammam to identify motivational factors that influence their tendency towards postgraduate studies. The random pilot of this research consists of (30) master and doctoral students studying at University of Dammam in the Eastern Province of Saudi Arabia. The research results and findings showed that there is a positive relationship between extrinsic and intrinsic motivators and perceptions and attitudes of female graduates at the cognitive level. These correlations indicate that a postgraduate’s GPA can be improved by giving her external and internal motivation. This research will enable universities’ stakeholders to gain a better understanding of graduate students' needs, so that they can improve their strategies and programs to match those demands. Keywords: Motivation, theories of motivation, higher education