Interpersonal relationships and academic achievement – (how) are they interrelated in different periods of schooling?

1. Interpersonal relationships and academic achievement – (how) are they interrelated in different periods of schooling? Katja Košir, College of Business Doba Maribor Sonja Pečjak, Department of Psychology, University in Ljubljana

2. Social vs. academic variables Interpersonal relationships and academic achievement – (how) are they interrelated in different periods of schooling?

3. Social variables in learning motivation and achievement Contemporary studies (e.g. Kindermann, 1993; Ryan, Stiller, & Lynch; Wentzel, 1998): • SOCIAL RELATIONS: • withteachers • withpeers academicengagement academicachievement Interpersonal relationships and academic achievement – (how) are they interrelated in different periods of schooling?

4. Student – teacher relationship SDT: the need for relatedness From among all the dimensions of teacher’s behaviour his/her involvement is the strongest predictor of students’ academic engagement. Interpersonal relationships and academic achievement – (how) are they interrelated in different periods of schooling?

5. Relationships with peers • Students that are more accepted by their peers are also more successful in school (e.g. Chen, Chang, &He, 2003; Guay, Boivin, & Hodges, 1999; Wentzel, 1993; Wentzel & Caldwell, 1997). • The nature of the relationship between social and academic variables is unclear; mediated by emotional and motivational factors? Interpersonal relationships and academic achievement – (how) are they interrelated in different periods of schooling?

6. The origins of the research • Both factors of academic achievement (relations to peers and to teachers) were seldom examined simultaneously. • The relative importance of both kinds of relationships for academic achievement depends on students’ social development. Interpersonal relationships and academic achievement – (how) are they interrelated in different periods of schooling?

7. Research aims • to test the following model: Peer relations Well-being in school Academic engagement Academic achievement Relations with teachers Interpersonal relationships and academic achievement – (how) are they interrelated in different periods of schooling?

8. Research aims • to establish the relationship between the social and the academic variables and between the relations to peers and relations to teachers in different school periods; • to evaluate different methods of assessing social and academic variables in students. Interpersonal relationships and academic achievement – (how) are they interrelated in different periods of schooling?

9. Participants 1159 students Interpersonal relationships and academic achievement – (how) are they interrelated in different periods of schooling?

10. Interpersonal relationships and academic achievement – (how) are they interrelated in different periods of schooling?

11. Interpersonal relationships and academic achievement – (how) are they interrelated in different periods of schooling?

12. Interpersonal relationships and academic achievement – (how) are they interrelated in different periods of schooling?

13. Interpersonal relationships and academic achievement – (how) are they interrelated in different periods of schooling?

14. Interpersonal relationships and academic achievement – (how) are they interrelated in different periods of schooling?

15. Results SEM – Lisrel 8.5 • The originally presumed model with mediating variables does not fit the data (RMSEA for the variations of the model.07 - .12) Raykov & Marcoulides (2000): RMSEA  .05  the fit is appropriate Interpersonal relationships and academic achievement – (how) are they interrelated in different periods of schooling?

16. Testing the model with mediating variables RMSEA for the variations of the model.07 - .12 Peer relations Well-being in school Academic engagement Academic achievement Relations with teachers Interpersonal relationships and academic achievement – (how) are they interrelated in different periods of schooling?

17. Testing the model without mediating variables Peer relations Academic achievement Relations with teachers RMSEA for the variations of the model.00 - .10 Interpersonal relationships and academic achievement – (how) are they interrelated in different periods of schooling?

18. Testing the model without mediating variables • The fit is appropriate for the students of 8th grade and 2nd grade of SS • For the adolescents, relationship with teachers has a stronger impact on academic achievement than peer relations: students that form positive relations with their teachers achieve better in school. Interpersonal relationships and academic achievement – (how) are they interrelated in different periods of schooling?

19. The analysis of correlations between manifest variables • Academic achievement is more strongly related to relations with teachers than to peer relations in all periods of schooling. • The correlations between indices of peer relations and relations to teachers consistently decrease with age. Interpersonal relationships and academic achievement – (how) are they interrelated in different periods of schooling?

20. Evaluationofdifferentmethodsofassessing social andacademicvariables • Very low, even null correlations between indices of the same constructs, assessed from different sources. • The correlations between different constructs, assessed from thesame source, are higher than correlations between the indices of the same construct, assessed from different sources. Interpersonal relationships and academic achievement – (how) are they interrelated in different periods of schooling?

21. The model with latent variables with regard to the method of data assessment The fit is appropriate for the students of 2nd grade of SS (RMSEA = .045) Interpersonal relationships and academic achievement – (how) are they interrelated in different periods of schooling?

22. Conclusions • During adolescence, academic achievement and relations to teachers on one side and relations to peers on the other side are becoming less related to each other. • Depending on just one source of data assessment in measuring students’ social and academic characteristics seems to be questionable. Interpersonal relationships and academic achievement – (how) are they interrelated in different periods of schooling?