Prosocial behavior and peer problems are an important correlate of academic development; however, these effects vary by achievement measures and social behaviors. In this paper, we examined data from the German National Education Panel Study (NEPS), and we use structural equation modeling (SEM) to model the effects of prosocial behavior and peer problems on grades and competencies for both math (n = 3,310) and reading (n = 3,308) in grades 5 and 7. Our models account for the moderating effect of both gender and socioeconomic status (SES) as determined by parental education. We conclude that social behaviors relate to grades more strongly than competencies, that peer problems relate more strongly to achievement than prosocial behavior, and that the relationship is weaker in later grades. We discuss the implication that grades and achievement tests are not interchangeable measures for educators and researchers.

Even in inclusive classroom, children with special education needs (SEN) have been shown to have lower levels of emotional inclusion and academic self-concept. Although, their social inclusion may be comparable to their peers. At the same time, boys and girls may also experience differences in perceptions of inclusion and academic self-concept. Newly developed reliably short-ratings of these three variables (i.e. the Perception of Inclusion Questionnaire; PIQ) may offer an insight into developmental patterns for children with and without SEN in relation to perception of inclusion and academic self-concept. In this study, the PIQ is validated in a new setting and language group by looking at Swedish fifth and eighth graders in an inclusive school. Different levels of academic self-concept and emotional inclusion are found for children with SEN. Meanwhile eight-grade girls showed a lower self-concept in comparison to fifth-grade girls and to boys of either grade. Additionally, girls with SEN showed a higher level of academic self-concept than boys did in comparison to their same-sex peers without SEN.