The purpose of this study was to examine the effects of metacognitive strategies on self-regulated learning processes, focusing on the mediating effects of self-efficacy. The surveys were conducted in December 2016 (Time 1) and January 2017 (Time 2). One hundred and five undergraduates enrolled at a Japanese university participated in this survey study, consisting of two surveys conducted one month apart. The questionnaires measured the use of metacognitive strategies (i.e., planning strategy and monitoring strategy), self-efficacy, general learning behaviors (behavioral engagement and persistence), and the use of cognitive strategies (i.e., writing-repetition strategy and deep-processing strategy). First, cross-lagged structure equation modeling revealed that the use of planning strategy enhanced self-efficacy. Second, path analysis examined relationships between metacognitive strategies, general learning behaviors, and cognitive strategies. It revealed that (a) general learning behaviors were promoted by metacognitive strategies mediated by self-efficacy and (b) cognitive strategies were almost directly affected by the monitoring strategy. The current study reveals that general learning behaviors and cognitive strategies involve different processes than metacognitive strategies.

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This study investigated the failure beliefs among Japanese junior high school students using the failure belief scale developed by Nishimura et al. Cluster analysis was performed by categorizing 280 students into four distinctive clusters: "high fearfulness group" with high fearfulness toward failure, "failure amicable group" with low fearfulness towards failure and high utilizationpossibility of failure, "average group" that showed consistently average scores over the two subscales, and "failure indifferent group" with low scores over the subscales. One-way ANOVA revealed that the first two groups are different not in the academic outcomes but in the social outcomes. The results suggested that teachers should focus on social aspects as well as cognitive aspects in promoting the qualitative development of students' failure belief groups.