Achievement motivation, metacognitive awareness, and students’ attitudes related to problem-solving abilities are less sensitive due to the limited effect of civic education in higher education. Therefore, the purpose of this research is to determine the relationship between the above-mentioned variables in students. The correlational method is used to determine the relationship between variables with data obtained from 148 students from three universities in Indonesia. The instruments used were questionnaires and test descriptions. The data obtained were analysed using the multiple regression analysis. The results showed that problem-solving abilities had a positive relationship with the following aspects: achievement motivation, metacognitive awareness, students’ attitudes towards learning, and simultaneously, achievement motivation, metacognitive awareness and attitudes. This research confirms that civic education lecturers need to pay attention to achievement motivation, metacognitive awareness and attitudes of students related to learning strategies in improving the ability to solve problems. It is recommended that lecturers examine other variables that might affect the problem-solving ability, including collaborative learning models, and other models that demand student participation.
Keywords: Achievement motivation, metacognitive awareness, student attitudes, problem-solving ability