EFFECT OF METACOGNITIVE SELF-ASSESSMENT STRATEGY ON SELF-EFFICACY IN ALGEBRA AMONG SENIOR SECONDARY SCHOOL STUDENTS, DUTSIN-MA QUALITY ASSURANCE ZONE, KATSINA STATE, NIGERIA

This study examined the effect of metacognitive self-assessment strategy on self-efficacy in algebra among senior secondary school students in Dutsin-Ma Quality Assurance Zone, Katsina State, Nigeria. Two research questions and two hypotheses guided the study. The researchers employed a quasi-experimental design involving two groups: experimental and control. The population consisted of 3,691 senior secondary school two (SSS 2) students from public secondary schools in Dutsin-Ma Quality Assurance Zone of Katsina State. Two coeducational schools were selected through simple random sampling, and from these, two intact classes were also randomly chosen from the SSS 2 arm. One hundred and two (102) students participated as the sample, comprising 77 males and 25 females. The instrument used for data collection was the Algebra Self-Efficacy Scale (ASES), which had a reliability coefficient of 0.75. Data were analysed using descriptive statistics—mean and standard deviation—to answer the research questions. The hypotheses were tested using inferential statistics, specifically the Mann-Whitney U test at a significance level of ρ ≤ 0.05. The results indicated a significant difference in self-efficacy favouring the experimental group exposed to the Metacognitive Self-Assessment Strategy, while no significant difference was observed between male and female students’ self-efficacy when exposed to the strategy. The study concluded that the Metacognitive Self-Assessment Strategy effectively enhanced students’ algebra self-efficacy more than the traditional lecture method among senior secondary school students, and it is a gender-neutral teaching approach. Based on these findings, the researchers recommended that curriculum developers incorporate empirical data from this study to embed the metacognitive self-assessment strategy as a pedagogical tool for improving self-efficacy in algebra and mathematics in general in secondary schools.