Theses and Dissertations

Date of Award

2026

Document Type

Dissertation

Degree Name

Doctor of Education (EdD)

Department

Abraham S. Fischler College of Education and School of Criminal Justice

Advisor

Gary Reglin

Committee Member

Sherilyn Poole

Committee Member

Kimberly Durham

Keywords

college readiness, expected value of control, metacognition, motivation, persistence, psychological capital, self-efficacy, soft skills

Abstract

This applied dissertation examined the influence that metacognition has on college readiness and its most traditionally used metrics: performance-based outcomes and persistence. Specifically, this study addressed to what degree underlying metacognitive structures differ between college students’ successful metrics of performance and persistence compared to a more general sample of college students.

The research characterized metacognition along three domains of analysis: (a) selfefficacy/ motivation, (b) soft skills/psychological capital (Psycap), and (c) expected value of control (EVC). The quantitative study included 54 college students and a crosssectional design. Participants completed a four-part Likert-style survey, where their responses were measured along the three domains of metacognition. Each domain was calculated for its frequency and percentage, median, mode, mean, and standard deviation. The data were then restricted to calculate only for students with success metrics in performance or persistence: (a) college grade point average (GPA), (b) high school GPA, (c) SAT/ACT test scores, and (d) years enrolled in college.

The results from the general-student sample and successful-student sample exhibited similar results, with elevated rates of agreement for the success cohorts. The exception to these findings were in persistence, for which the successful cohort measured much closer to the general mean. Both samples expressed the highest rates of agreement for items within the soft skills/PsyCap domains, with self-efficacy/motivation coming close behind. Results for both samples indicated a significant drop for most items related to EVC, for which many responses reported disagreement.

These findings suggest that even for traditionally high-achieving students, extrinsic outcomes (e.g., test results, grades) serve less of a driving force in student success than previously realized.

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