Peer-perceived social competence and academic achievement of low-level educated young adolescents

This study focuses on the relationship between peer-rated social competence and academic success among teenagers of the lowest level of Dutch general secondary education. At this educational level, an uninterested or even a m ildly depreciative attitude toward academic achievements is anticipated. As a result, it is expected that the relationship between academic performanc e and peer-perceived social competence should be void or even negative. A q uestionnaire was administered to a sample of 157 youths, 76 boys and 81 gir ls between 14 and 17 years. This sample showed a predominantly negative att itude toward academic achievements. The correlations between peer-rated soc ial competence and various measures of academic competence were void or eve n negative. A significant negative correlation is found with respect to ach ievements in mathematics and physics. The poorest school achievements are f ound among a small category of children who have received mainly neutral pe er-judgments of social competence.