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Abstract

Metacognitive skills are widely recognized as a critical foundation for mathematical competence, supporting students’ ability to organize, monitor, and evaluate their problem-solving processes. Despite this importance, limited research has addressed how these skills manifest among junior high school students with low self-efficacy (LSE), a group often at risk of underachievement in mathematics. This study contributes to filling this gap by examining the specific characteristics of metacognitive functioning in LSE students when engaging with problem-solving tasks. The research aimed to describe the metacognitive skills of LSE students in solving problems involving the Pythagorean Theorem and to analyze their strategies and thinking processes. Adopting a descriptive qualitative design, the study involved students identified as having low self-efficacy through questionnaires. Data were collected via self-efficacy questionnaires, problem-solving tasks, and semi-structured interviews, and analyzed using metacognitive indicators within Polya’s problem-solving framework. The results revealed that LSE students consistently demonstrated awareness and evaluation but applied regulation less effectively, particularly during the reviewing stage. Although they were able to plan and assess their solution strategies, errors frequently occurred, requiring repeated adjustments before arriving at correct answers. These findings underscore the need for instructional approaches that explicitly integrate the development of self-efficacy with metacognitive skill training, offering practical implications for mathematics teaching and advancing research on learners with diverse affective-motivational profiles.

Keywords

Metacognitive Skills Problem Solving Pythagorean Theorem Self-Efficacy

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Pathuddin, Azizah, N., Lefrida, R., & Alfisyahra. (2025). Metacognitive skills in low self-efficacy students: A case study of junior high school students in the using of the Pythagorean theorem. Journal on Mathematics Education, 16(3), 783–800. https://doi.org/10.22342/jme.v16i3.pp783-800
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