Self-system thinking and academic self-determination as correlates of science persistence and scientific reading fluency in Bilingual University Students

Abstract This study examined how Marzano’s self-system thinking (SST) and a four-dimension operationalization of academic self-determination (ASD) relate to persistence in learning natural sciences (PLNS) and scientific-text reading fluency (RFT) among bilingual (Arabic–English) university students in Egypt. Using a cross-sectional correlational design, data were collected from 302 undergraduates (Mage = 21.1, SD = 1.39; 249 females, 53 males). SST was measured with adapted Likert scales assessing importance, efficacy, and emotional response, and ASD was assessed with adapted scales assessing academic autonomy, self-regulation, psychological empowerment, and self-realization. Scientific-text reading fluency was assessed using an individually administered oral reading task scored by trained raters (accuracy, expression/prosody, rate, and voice clarity/tone) alongside brief comprehension items. Multiple regression analyses were used to estimate the associations of SST and ASD with PLNS and RFT, including joint models to examine their incremental explanatory contribution when entered together. Both construct systems were significantly associated with PLNS and RFT. In dimensional analyses, SST emotional response and efficacy, and ASD psychological empowerment, showed the most robust associations across outcomes. Given the cross-sectional design, findings are interpreted as associations rather than evidence of causal effects. The results underscore the potential value of instructional and advising practices that support students’ affective engagement with science learning and their sense of academic agency in bilingual STEM-adjacent contexts.