METHODOLOGICAL ASPECTS OF RESEARCHING NATIONAL SECURITY STUDENTS' METACOGNITIVE CONTROL IN THE CONTEXT OF SELF-REGULATED LEARNING
Authors: Nechyporuk Mariana , Romaniuk Volodymyr 
Published: May 2024

This article presents an analysis of the main theoretical and methodological foundations for researching metacognitive control among students specializing in National Security within the context of self-regulated learning. It highlights the growing interest in psychological science regarding the problem of self-regulated learning effectiveness and the researchers' desire to develop functioning tools for assessing learning strategies. Based on classical postulates about methodology as a system of principles and methods for organizing and constructing theoretical and practical activities, the article analyzes theoretical models, characteristics, and components of self-regulated learning and the place of metacognitive control within this system. It considers Pintrich's theoretical model of self-regulated learning, which studies self-regulation of learning, particularly metacognitive control, across four spheres: cognitive, motivational-emotional, behavioral, and contextual. The latter distinguishes this model from others, as it includes the contextual area as a subject of self-regulation. Special attention is given to analyzing key elements of metacognitive control – learning strategies that can significantly enhance the chances of successful and effective learning. It is found that learning strategies relate to the effective selection and organization of information, efficient repetition of material with subsequent assimilation, establishing connections between new information and information already stored in memory, understanding, monitoring, and continuously enhancing the meaningfulness of the material. It is noted that an important aspect of the interconnection between learning strategies and metacognitive abilities is the effective management of resources, not necessarily related to cognitive activity – time management, managing the learning environment, group learning, and seeking feedback. The third level of methodology discusses a set of specific techniques and technical research approaches for investigating metacognitive control in students of higher education institutions specializing in “National Security”: LASSI, Weinstein, Schulte, Palmer, 1987. The conclusion is drawn that self-regulated learning (and thus, the ability to apply metacognitive control) characterizes students as actively engaged in the learning process: they maintain their motivation, are aware of their thinking processes, and know how to use a wide range of strategies to achieve desired academic outcomes. The article identifies the main methodological problems associated with the empirical study of the effectiveness of self-regulated learning: using different tools to study cognitive, metacognitive, and motivational aspects of self-regulated learning, which separately does not consider its regulatory nature; the need to increase students' awareness of the characteristics of self-regulated learning and the use of learning strategies for accurate self-reports and self-assessment of these processes; since SRL is a specific, not a general process, differences in research results can be observed depending on the context or situation.