Exploring the Relationships among Metalearning, Cognitive Holding Power and English Writing Skills of Pre-service Teachers in Egypt

Although there are a number of studies on English writing skills, the relation among metalearning, cognitive holding power and writing skills is not well understood. Thus, this study investigated the relation among metalearning capacity (high versus low) and cognitive holding power (CHP; first-order versus second-order) in explaining the English Language writing skills of Egyptian pre-service teachers. We constructed and validated new measures of metalearning and English writing skills, and adapted an existing measure of CHP for use with our Egyptian sample. Participants with high metalearning capacity demonstrated better writing skills than those with low metalearning capacity. In addition, participants with second-order CHP exhibited better writing skills than those with first-order CHP. The two factors made independent contributions (i.e., did not interact) because, we argue that metalearning operates at the level of the individual learner whereas CHP is an attribute of the larger instructional environment (as orchestrated by the teacher). These findings generalize and extend our current understanding of the role of metalearning and CHP in developing writing skills to a new population, and establish the utility of newly developed and adapted instruments and adapted instruments. They also set the stage for future interventions for developing better English writing skills in pre-service teachers.