How Self-Belief Shapes Academic Success in Primary School
Drawing on data from 2,000 fourth-grade students in 40 schools in central Russia, the authors examine how children’s subjective well-being and subject-specific self-efficacy relate to their performance in mathematics and reading. The article was recently published in PLOS One.
Achievement and well-being: a question of driving
The study explored the relationship between students’ feelings about school and their academic performance. Initially, well-being appears positively associated with both math and reading results. Students who feel more satisfied with school demonstrate higher self-efficacy and better performance in math and reading. However, once self-efficacy is included in the analysis, this relationship becomes much weaker, especially in mathematics. In fact, math self-efficacy largely accounts for the link between school well-being and math achievement.
This suggests that feeling good about school may not be enough on its own. What seems to matter more is whether students feel capable.
For girls in particular, self-efficacy appears to play a moderating role. When they are confident in their abilities, positive feelings about school are more likely to translate into stronger academic performance. Without that confidence, well-being alone does not have the same effect.
Confidence matters, but differently across subjects
The results also show that subject-specific self-efficacy is strongly associated with academic achievement. In mathematics, this pattern is remarkably consistent. Self-efficacy—students’ confidence in their ability to solve math problems—is strongly associated with achievement for both girls and boys. The relationship remains robust even when other factors are taken into account.
Reading, however, shows a more nuanced picture. Here, self-efficacy appears to matter more for girls than for boys. For girls, believing that they can understand texts and cope with reading tasks is closely linked to higher reading scores. Moreover, for girls, confidence strengthens the connection between positive school experiences and academic outcomes.
One finding stands out. Contrary to common international patterns, boys in this sample reported higher reading self-efficacy than girls. It points to the importance of cultural and educational context in shaping how children evaluate their own abilities.
Self-efficacy in math fully explained the relationship of satisfaction with school and affect toward school with students’ results in math.
What does this mean for schools?
We confirmed the role and importance of self-efficacy in academic results as well as its relationship to subjective well-being for elementary school students in Russia.
For mathematics in particular, strengthening self-efficacy may help improve both achievement and students’ experience of school. For girls, supporting confidence in both math and reading appears especially important.
In practice, this means creating classroom environments where students experience manageable challenges, receive constructive feedback, and learn to interpret difficulties as part of the learning process rather than as signs of inability. Professional development for teachers can play a key role in embedding such approaches into everyday instruction. Building strong self-belief in primary school may therefore serve as an important foundation for later academic resilience.
Ultimately, the study reminds us that academic success is not only about curriculum and instruction. It is also about how children see themselves as learners, and whether they believe they are capable of succeeding.