Moderation analysis of subjective well-being, self-efficacy, and academic performance of 4th grade children in Russia

Research evidence exists on associations of subjective well-being, self-efficacy and various academic and non-academic outcomes with older students; however, there is a research gap on how these variables relate to each other in elementary school students. The goal of this cross-sectional study within a larger longitudinal project was to examine the role of subjective well-being and self-efficacy in predicting academic achievement in math and reading among elementary school students in Russia. The sample included 1,962 students’ responses (50.4% girls, 7.7% in rural areas) from elementary schools in central Russia. To measure students’ well-being, two subscales from the Survey of Subjective Well-being in School (SSWBS) were used: satisfaction with school (k = 7) and affect toward school (k = 3). Domain-specific Self-efficacy Scales: self-efficacy for mathematics (k = 4) and self-efficacy for reading (k = 4) were used to measure students’ self-efficacy. To measure students’ academic achievement in mathematics and reading, the Progress assessment – the computer adaptive test – was used. Based on the results, self-efficacy for math relates positively to girls’ (SD = 0.32) and boys’ (SD = 0.34) results in math ( p < 0.01). In contrast, for girls, self-efficacy in reading is more important for their results in reading (SD = 0.27) than for boys (SD = 0.16). Hence, both types of self-efficacy are significant for girls and moderate the relationship between subjective well-being and their academic results (satisfaction with school: SD = 0.09, p < 0.01; affect toward school: SD = 0.1, p < 0.05). The results confirmed the role and importance of self-efficacy in academic performance as well as its relationship to subjective well-being for elementary school students, thus expanding the theoretical views and providing the evidence for the moderating effect of self-efficacy. The paper articulates ideas for future research and implications for teachers and policy makers on targeted development of self-efficacy for math through school wide interventions, especially for elementary school girls.