Reciprocal Associations among Social–Emotional Competence, Interpersonal Relationships and Academic Achievements in Primary School

The study aimed to examine the reciprocal associations among social–emotional competence (SEC), interpersonal relationships (including teacher–student relationships and peer relationships) and academic achievements in reading, mathematics and science of primary school students. The Chinese versions of the Delaware Social and Emotional Competency Scale, Teacher–student Relationship Scale, Peer-nomination method and Academic Achievement Tests were used to measure students’ SEC, teacher–student relationships, peer relationships (including social preference (SP) and social impact (SI)) and academic achievements, respectively. In total, 3995 fourth-grade students participated in the first survey, and 2789 of them were tracked in the follow-up survey two years later. Structural equation modelling was employed to investigate the cross-lagged relationships among the variables across time. The results showed the reciprocal associations between SEC with academic achievements and teacher–student relationships, as well as between academic achievements with SP and teacher–student relationships. Moreover, variations in these reciprocal associations were observed across the subjects of reading, mathematics and science. In summary, this study offers new insights for enhancing students’ SEC, interpersonal relationships and academic achievements, and implications for future subject-specific education can be derived by considering the complex interplay in the subjects of reading, mathematics and science.