Academic achievement and social competence in grade seven
Date
1989
Authors
Whitington, Victoria
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Abstract
The purpose of the study was to determine whether, for students in grade seven, a significant correlational relationship existed between academic achievement and social competence. Ninety grade seven students (53 males and 37 females) from four classes in a city in southern Vancouver Island were the sample used in the study.
The instruments used to assess social competence were a peer rating scale (Cartledge and Milburn, 1986), the Matson Evaluation of Social Skills for Youngsters, teacher reports, and youth self-reports; all were standardized tests. Academic achievement was measured using the reading vocabulary and reading comprehension scores from the Canadian Test of Basic Skills (grade seven level). The data were collected in February, 1989.
A canonical correlation procedure was performed on the data. A modest correlation (R.= .38) was found between the two sets of variables; significance was obtained between the reading comprehension and teacher report scores only in male subjects. A subsequent MANOV A calculation showed that no significant differences existed between the means of the variables tested. The distribution of scores for the teacher report, however, was significantly broader for males than for females, while the distribution of scores was significantly broader for females than for males for both the self-report and reading vocabulary measures.
The modest correlation found between these two sets of variables only for male subjects indicated that the previously found strong correlation for these two constructs may decrease in strength as students approach adolescence. Other related variables may become more important with students in this age group. Males and females may gradually evolve into distinct groups with separate behavioral norms. It is concluded that future research in the area of social competence and academic achievement should include analysis by gender and age, and that the previously found relationship between social competence and academic achievement is less likely to be significant as students enter adolescence.