Psychometric validation of a metacognition scale in physical education and analysis of student profiles in secondary education

Metacognition supports self-regulated learning in Physical Education (PE), yet there is limited psychometric evidence for brief, validated instruments that distinguish planning, monitoring, and evaluation processes in school settings. This study examined the internal structure and reliability of an ordinal, PE-specific metacognition scale and described performance patterns by gender and grade level. A total of 146 students completed an initial pool of Likert-type items. An exploratory factor analysis (EFA) for ordinal data was conducted using polychoric correlations, minimum residual extraction, and oblique rotation. Factorability was adequate ( K M O = .90 ; B a r t l e t t ′ s t e s t : χ 2 ( 210 ) = 2228.57 , p < .001 ). Because Velicer's MAP and parallel analysis yielded discrepant recommendations, competing solutions were compared, prioritizing simple structure and interpretability. Item refinement removed six items, resulting in a 15-item version organized into three facets: Planning (5 items), Monitoring (6 items), and Evaluation (4 items). The final EFA solution showed acceptable fit ( R M S E A = .089 ; T L I = .898 ; R M S R = .041 ). A subsequent hierarchical confirmatory factor analysis (CFA) for ordinal indicators (WLSMV) supported three first-order factors subsumed by a second-order factor (Global Metacognition), with good fit ( CF I s c a l e d = .963; TL I s c a l e d = .956; RMSE A s c a l e d = .086; SRMR = .059) and strong second-order loadings ( λ = .843–.906). Facet reliability was adequate ( ω = .810–.888; α = .806–.858; ordinal α = .834–.883), and reliability for the global factor was high ( ω L 2 = .938), supporting preferential use of the total score. As complementary evidence, observed score differences by gender and grade level were explored and effect sizes were reported. Overall, the findings provide consistent evidence of dimensional validity and internal consistency for a brief metacognition scale in PE, suitable for monitoring metacognitive processes during motor practice and informing instructional decisions aligned with self-regulated learning.