This paper presents the findings of a study on the differences in metacognitive knowledge about more and less effective learning strategies and the actual use of different strategies during schoolwork between students with higer and lower academic achievement in mother tongue. In a sample of 159 lower secondary school 9th grade students, we found that there are some significant differences in the perceptions of the effectiveness of the chosen strategies among students with regard to their academic achievement. Less successful students have labelled less appropriate strategies as useful, and vice versa. Significant differences were also found in the use of metacognitive and motivational strategies and in self- -efficacy for regulation and motivation. Students with more metacognitive knowledge are more effective in regulating learning, abler to motivate themselves to learn, and persist for a longer time. For students with less metacognitive knowledge, however, it is much more true that they evaluate the learning process when they are done with it. The findings highlight the importance of systematically practicing strategies in students, with teachers playing a key role in that process.
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