Stability of Peer Acceptance and Rejection and Their Effect on Academic Performance in Primary Education: A Longitudinal Research

Francisco J. García Bacete, Victoria Muñoz Tinoco, Ghislaine Marande Perrin and Jesús F. Rosel Remírez
Additional contact information
Francisco J. García Bacete: Department of Developmental, Educational and Social Psychology and Methodology, Universitat Jaume I, 12071 Castellón de la Plana, Spain
Victoria Muñoz Tinoco: Developmental and Educational Psychology, University of Seville, 41018 Sevilla, Spain
Ghislaine Marande Perrin: Department of Developmental, Educational and Social Psychology and Methodology, Universitat Jaume I, 12071 Castellón de la Plana, Spain
Jesús F. Rosel Remírez: Department of Developmental, Educational and Social Psychology and Methodology, Universitat Jaume I, 12071 Castellón de la Plana, Spain

Sustainability, 2021, vol. 13, issue 5, 1-28

Abstract: The objectives of this study were to analyze the evolution of peer relationships and academic performance and the effect of the former on the latter in primary education, differentiating between positive and negative relationships. To this end, the likes and dislikes received by each student from his/her classmates were measured at four time points between first and sixth grades, as well as the marks given by their teachers in the subjects of mathematics and Spanish language. One-hundred-sixty-nine students (52.7% girls) from 10 classes of five public schools participated in this study. To verify the objectives, we used a complex structural equation model, obtained from a combination of two autoregressive models (AR, one for social preferences and another one for academic performance), two multi-trait multi-method models (MTMM, one for acceptances and rejections and another one for academic performance in mathematics and Spanish language), and an effects model of social preferences on academic performance. This study confirms: (a) The stability of both peer relationships and academic performance throughout childhood; (b) the stable influence of social relationships on academic performance; and (c) the importance of considering acceptance and rejection differentially. This work reveals the failure of the school to address initial disadvantages, and it provides guidelines for early and inclusive interventions.

Keywords: peer liking; peer disliking; academic achievement; primary school; social and educational inclusion; peer acceptance; peer rejection; longitudinal structural equations (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: O13 Q Q0 Q2 Q3 Q5 Q56 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2021
References: View references in EconPapers View complete reference list from CitEc
Citations: View citations in EconPapers (1)

Downloads: (external link)
https://www.mdpi.com/2071-1050/13/5/2650/pdf (application/pdf)
https://www.mdpi.com/2071-1050/13/5/2650/ (text/html)

Related works:
This item may be available elsewhere in EconPapers: Search for items with the same title.

Export reference: BibTeX RIS (EndNote, ProCite, RefMan) HTML/Text

Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:gam:jsusta:v:13:y:2021:i:5:p:2650-:d:508738

Access Statistics for this article

Sustainability is currently edited by Ms. Alexandra Wu

More articles in Sustainability from MDPI
Bibliographic data for series maintained by MDPI Indexing Manager ().