The type of relationships a child establishes in kindergarten can affect his/her learning. The main purpose of this study was to investigate associations between relational behavior and achievement in that context, taking children’s sex into account. Sixty-eight boys and 65 girls from public schools participated in the study. Their ages ranged from 5 to 7 years. Teachers filled out a scale assessing children’s behaviors in relation to classroom tasks, teacher, and peers. Achievement was assessed by means of an evaluation of pre-reading skills. Results showed that girls were assessed more positively than boys. For both sexes, achievement measures correlated with behaviors related to tasks, peers, and teacher, in this order of strength. Achievement was more strongly related with interpersonal behaviors for boys than for girls. Some alternative explanations for boys’ greater susceptibility to relational difficulties are discussed.
Behavior; school achievement; childhood education
