Mathematics and Language Self-Efficacy, Reading Interest, and Bullying as Predictors of Academic Achievement in Formal and Nonformal Education

Although mathematics self-efficacy, language self-efficacy, reading interest, and bullying have individually been linked to academic achievement, their combined and domain-specific associations with Indonesian Language and Mathematics achievement across formal and nonformal education remain insufficiently understood. This study examined the relationships among mathematics self-efficacy, language self-efficacy, reading interest, bullying, gender, educational unit type, and achievement in both subjects. A quantitative, correlational, cross-sectional design involved 241 Grade IV students from formal and nonformal educational units in Cirebon, Indonesia. Data were obtained through questionnaires assessing the four psychosocial constructs and documented academic scores. SmartPLS was used solely to evaluate convergent validity and internal consistency, while the General Linear Model Multivariate procedure was used for hypothesis testing. Mathematics self-efficacy, language self-efficacy, reading interest, bullying, and educational unit type were significantly associated with the combined academic outcomes, whereas gender was not. Mathematics self-efficacy was specifically associated with Mathematics achievement, while language self-efficacy was specifically associated with Indonesian Language achievement. Reading interest was positively associated with both subjects, whereas bullying was negatively associated with both. These findings suggest that academic achievement is related to domain-specific confidence, reading engagement, social experiences, and educational context. The study supports targeted interventions that strengthen subject-specific self-efficacy, promote reading across subjects, and prevent bullying through scaffolded learning tasks, cross-curricular reading activities, and structured school-based prevention protocols in both formal and nonformal settings.