Relative importance of social factors linked to academic achievement in the 1st grade

The present study was aimed at investigating the aspects of social functioning linked to academic achievement in the 1st grade. Subjects were 380 Lithuanian 1st graders, 211 girls and 169 boys. Social factors measured included students’ social competence, student-teacher relationship, and popularity in class. Regression analysis revealed that learning-related social competence – ability to take directions – was the strongest predictor, accounting for 28.7% of variance in academic achievement