Are teachers metacognitively aware while teaching? A cross-cultural analysis of Greek and Romanian teachers

ABSTRACT The present research aimed to delve into the metacognitive awareness among teachers within the diverse cultural and educational backdrops of Greece and Romania. Drawing from the rich educational traditions and practices unique to each nation, this study sought to discern potential variations in how teachers perceive, understand, and regulate their cognitive processes before, during and after they teach. Using the Metacognitive Awareness Inventory for Teachers (MAIT), a comparative analysis was conducted on data from 856 educators, comprising 630 Greek and 226 Romanian teachers. Descriptive statistics revealed Greek teachers to exhibit a slightly higher metacognitive awareness score than their Romanian counterparts. Further, analyses of different dimensions of metacognitive awareness, such as Declarative Knowledge, Procedural Knowledge, and Conditional Knowledge, among others, showcased various effect sizes and variances between the two groups. The current study underscores the importance of considering cultural and educational contexts when exploring metacognitive strategies in teaching and offers avenues for future research in understanding their broader implications in pedagogical settings.