ORIGINAL RESEARCH article
Front. Psychol.
Sec. Educational Psychology
Metacognitive Awareness and Confidence as predictors of Academic Performance in Pharmacy Students: Insights from Grade Predictions and Structural Equation Modeling
Rihaf Alfaraj 1
Burhanettin Ozdemir 2
Lobna AlJuffali 1
Jawza F. Alsabhan 1
Noha AL Aloola 1
Hadeel Alkofide 1
Rana Aljadeed 1
Raniah Aljadeed 1
Faten Alodaib 1
Nora Alkhudair 1
Haya M. Almalag 1
Ghada A Bawazeer 1
Lamya S. Alnaim 1
Njoud Altuwaijri 1
1. King Saud University, Riyadh, Saudi Arabia
2. Prince Sultan University, Riyadh, Saudi Arabia
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Abstract
Background: Pharmacy students often struggle with accurate self-assessment of learning outcomes. Many students overestimate exam performance, reflecting poor metacognitive awareness and overconfidence. This study examined the relationships between metacognitive awareness, self-confidence in grade predictions, and academic performance in pharmacy education, thus addressing how these factors interact without inferring causation. Methods: Pharmacy students (n=151) at King Saud University participated in this study while enrolled in a Pathophysiology, Drug Action, and Therapeutics course. Surveys were pre-tested and post-tested twice at two midterm examinations to determine their self-reported metacognitive awareness and confidence. Students made predictions for future course grades. These self-tests were then contrasted to actual exam scores. Statistical analysis was performed using R software version 4.3.1 (R Core Team, 2023), and students were categorized by metacognitive and confidence ability. Results: Despite underperforming on the first exam, students' confidence in their grade predictions remained high. Students with better metacognitive awareness and well-calibrated confidence scored significantly higher on exams (p <.01). Metacognitive cognition and confidence were positively associated with academic performance (r = .467 and .361, p < .01), and with each other (r = .251, p < .01). Gender differences showed higher overall confidence and metacognitive cognition scores in males. Discussion: The results indicate that metacognition and confidence are critical for academic performance. These findings suggest that educational programs targeting self-evaluation warrant further investigation.
Summary
Keywords
Academic achievements, grade predictions, metacognition, performance, Pharmaceutical education, studentconfidence
Received
07 October 2025
Accepted
09 February 2026
Copyright
© 2026 Alfaraj, Ozdemir, AlJuffali, Alsabhan, AL Aloola, Alkofide, Aljadeed, Aljadeed, Alodaib, Alkhudair, Almalag, Bawazeer, Alnaim and Altuwaijri. This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (CC BY). The use, distribution or reproduction in other forums is permitted, provided the original author(s) or licensor are credited and that the original publication in this journal is cited, in accordance with accepted academic practice. No use, distribution or reproduction is permitted which does not comply with these terms.
*Correspondence: Njoud Altuwaijri
Disclaimer
All claims expressed in this article are solely those of the authors and do not necessarily represent those of their affiliated organizations, or those of the publisher, the editors and the reviewers. Any product that may be evaluated in this article or claim that may be made by its manufacturer is not guaranteed or endorsed by the publisher.