Teacher perceptions of student social competence and school adjustment in elementary school

LTReikšminiai žodžiai: Adaptacija mokykloje; Akademiniai pasiekimai; Akademinis pasiekimas; Mokinio ir mokytojo santykiai; Mokinių-mokytojų ryšys; Mokyklos sukeliamas nerimas; Nerimas mokykloje; Pradinis ugdymas; Pradinė mokykla; Socialinė kompetencija; Academic achievement; Elementary school; School adjustment; School anxiety; Social competence; Student–teacher relationship.

ENThis study examined teacher perceptions of social competence and school adjustment in a Lithuanian sample of 403 elementary school children followed from the 1st to the 2nd grade. All children were aged 7 or 8 years in the 1st grade. The teacher–reported school adjustment indicators measured concurrently in the 1st and 2nd grade included academic achievement, student–teacher relationships, and school anxiety. Results indicated that in the 1st and 2nd grade both interpersonal and learning-related aspects of social competence as reported by teachers were significantly correlated with all aspects of teacher-assessed school adjustment measured in this study. Further analysis using structural equation modeling revealed that both aspects of social competence together accounted for about a third of variance in academic achievement in the 1st and 2nd grade. Learning-related social competence alone accounted for a similar amount of variance in student–teacher conflict, while interpersonal social competence was moderately linked to social anxiety in school and student–teacher closeness. [From the publication]

• Importance of social competence at the start of elementary school for adjustment indicators a year later / Visvaldas Legkauskas, Šarūnė Magelinskaitė-Legkauskienė. Issues in educational research. 2019, Vol. 29, iss. 4, p. 1262-1276.
• Pirmaklasių mokinių socialinio subrendimo ir adaptacijos mokykloje rodiklių sąsajos / Šarūnė Magelinskaitė. Pedagogika. 2011, 103, p. 45-51.
• Social competence in the 1st grade predicts school adjustment two years later / Visvaldas Legkauskas, Šarūnė Magelinskaitė-Legkauskienė. Early child development and care. 2019, April, 1 pdf (10 p.).