Validation of a Chinese version of metacognitive awareness of reading strategies inventory

Problem Statement:Students’ metacognition can play a critical role in their reading learning, and their metacognitive awareness of reading strategies has attracted the interest of both educational researchers and teachers. However, there is not an existing questionnaire for the research of students’ metacognition on reading in China. An instrument is needed to assess students’ metacognitive awareness of reading strategies in the Chinese context. Purpose of Study:The aim of the present research is to validate the Metacognitive Awareness of Reading Strategies Inventory in the Chinese educational context (MARSI-CN). This inventory can be used by Chinese teachers to improve their students’ reading skills. Methods:The present research was comprised of two pilot studies and one main study. In the first pilot study, a translated version of the original questionnaire was administered to a sample of 216 students in six different middle schools, and then in the second pilot study, a revised version of the initial translation was tried out on 494 students. Finally, in the main study, the revised MARSI-CN was tested with 2119 students. In the second pilot study phase, exploratory factor analysis was applied, and in the main study, confirmatory factor analysis was carried out. Findings and Results: A three-factor structure of the MARSI-CN resulted from the exploratory factor analysis on the second pilot study data. The consecutive confirmatory factor analysis – building on data from the main study – confirmed the three-factor structure and reflected good fit indices (χ²/df =1.613, RMSEA= .035, TLI= .959, GFI= .960, CFI= .966). Internal consistency in the questionnaire, as measured with Cronbach’s Alpha, was .863. Test–retest reliability was also high (r= .91, p< .01). Conclusions and Recommendations: The results from the study help to conclude that the translated and adapted instrument MARSI-CN reflects good reliability and validity, and that it can be used in research on students’ metacognitive awareness of reading strategies in Chinese middle schools