Exploring special non-cognitive factors related to young students’ academic performance in STEM subjects

Students’ academic success is influenced not only by their cognitive abilities and knowledge, but also non-cognitive factors. Studies show growing disinterest in science and math among students, especially females. Therefore this study aimed explore in depth the subject-specific motivation, mindset, mindfulness, cognitive persistence, mastery pleasure and subject-specific self-concept of 3<sup>rd</sup> and 4<sup>th</sup> grade students in relation to school performance by grades and by genders. Through student responses obtained by filling out questionnaires the results revealed a lot of correlations among the self-concept, motivational and other variables. It means that self-concepts and motivations connected to school subjects have significant relationship with the examined non-cognitive factors. The results also showed that the girls’ mathematical self-concept is already less positive than boys’ by grade 4. Furthermore the results of the ordinal regression analysis indicate that in the case of girls the predictors of academic achievement are more diversified, including more factors.