Adolescent Social Skills, Perception of Social Support and Motivation to Learn: the impact on School Performance

Abstract The aim of this study was to verify whether the School Performance variable can be explained by the Adolescent Social Skills (ASS), Motivation to Learn and Perception of Social Support constructs in groups of students that were with and without an age/grade discrepancy in Elementary School and in Acceleration classes. This study also aimed to compare the constructs in the groups. Participants were 500 students from public schools, aged 15 to 18 years, divided into two groups according to the school progression. The Social Skills Inventory for Adolescents, the Learning Motivation in Elementary Education Scale, the Social Support Appraisals Scale and the Class Council Maps of the participating institutions were used. For the data analysis, Multiple Linear Regression was performed and Student’s t-test. The results showed that Adolescent Social Skills, Motivation to Learn and the Perception of Social Support better explained the school performance of the regular progression students. When comparing the groups, the regular progression students presented higher mean scores in Empathy, Self-Control, Civility, Assertiveness, Social Development and in the overall total of the ASS scale. The same occurred when comparing the means of Perception of Social Support and Motivation to Learn of students with and without age/grade discrepancy. The data obtained can contribute to preventive intervention actions for academic competences and social skills, aiming at improving school performance and maintaining regular progression.