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.

Teacher-Students Relationships in First and Second Grade Classrooms. Adaptation of the Questionnaire on Teacher Interaction-Early Primary (QTI-EP) // Las relaciones del profesorado con el alumnado en aulas del ciclo inicial de educación primaria...

ResumenEn este artículo se describe el Composite Social Cognitive Maps (SCM), un método para identificar grupos de personas en contextos naturales. Se presenta el método, fundamentos, procedimiento de entrevista, utilización del software SCM 4.0 y análisis de la información que éste proporciona. Este software, a pesar de contar con una amplia tradición, es bastante desconocido en contextos de habla española. El método se puede aplicar en diversos ámbitos, pero en el presente trabajo se particulariza al contexto escolar, al aula y a los grupos de alumnos que hay en el aula. EL SCM proporciona información sobre: a) la identidad de los individuos que forman parte de un grupo de iguales y las personas con las que cada individuo está más estrechamente relacionado, b) el número de grupos y la centralidad de cada grupo dentro de la red social (aula) y c) la centralidad de cada individuo dentro del aula. Por último se comentan los resultados obtenidos en estudios que han utilizado este método y se proporciona información sobre su validez, fiabilidad y generalización.AbstractThis article describes the composite Social-Cognitive Map (SCM), a user-friendly method to identify groups of persons in natural settings. The method is introduced, with its foundations, the interview procedure, the use of SCM software 4.0, and the analysis of the information it yields. Despite having a large tradition, this software is quite unknown in Spanish speaking contexts. This method can be applied in various fields, but in this study we focus on the school context, the classroom and the student groups in the classroom. The SCM provides information on: a) the identity of individuals who are members of a peer group and the people with whom each individual is more closely affiliated; b) the number of peer groups and the centrality of each group within the social network (class); and c) the centrality of each individual in the classroom. Finally, the results obtained in studies which applied this method are commented, and information about its validity, reliability and generalization is provided