Metacognition as a core skill for wise decision-making in higher education: investigating gender differences

PurposeThe present study aimed to predict department heads' wisdom in Tehran universities based on their metacognitive beliefs and gender.Design/methodology/approachThe study employed a nonexperimental design. The statistical population consisted of all male and female heads of departments in Tehran universities, among whom 150 participants were selected using Morgan's table and via the random sampling method. The research instruments were the Meta-Cognitive Beliefs Questionnaire (Wells, 1997) and the Wisdom Scale (Schmitet al., 2012). The data were analyzed using multiple regression analysis and independent-samplest-test.FindingsThe total scores of male and female principals were significantly different in the two scales and some of their subscales. The metacognitive beliefs scale and its components were good and significant predictors of the principals' wisdom. Cognitive self-awareness was the best positive predictor, and positive beliefs about worries were the best negative predictor for their wisdom.Practical implicationsWise department heads are usually more empathetic, and this makes their decisions for the well-being and satisfaction of their colleagues as well as the students. Therefore, when faculty members are more satisfied and relaxed, they can do their teaching better and establish more effective relationships with their students. They should also be more motivated to do scientific research studies. Because wise managers are happier and more relaxed, they can focus more on solving educational problems in their department, and this, in turn, improves the educational quality of their department. The higher the quality of the university educational system, the less stress and the more mental health the students will have. Students in such educational environments are more focused on learning courses and gain better expertise. These students will provide more specialized services to the community in the future.Social implicationsWisdom is associated with better contributing to a happy life, and as a result, we have a healthier and more productive society.Originality/valueIt can be concluded that positive metacognitive knowledge, such as cognitive self-awareness via affecting the principals' mental awareness and regulating thoughts, and negative metacognitive experiences, such as worrying about the future, low meta memory and sensitive-obsessive control negatively affecting their affective and cognitive states, affect the principals' decisions and behaviors in educational settings. According to the results of this research, university presidents can hold workshops to increases metacognitive skills to their administrators and teachers. Also, the results of the present study can help the heads of university departments to establish more constructive and effective relationships with the faculty members and students by strengthening their metacognitive skills.