SOCIOMETRIC STATUS OF STUDENTS IN THE UPPER PRIMARY EDUCATION AND RELATION TO THEIR FRIENDSHIP RELATIONSHIP, SOCIODEMOGRAPHIC CHARACTERISTICS AND ACADEMIC ACHIEVEMENT

Abstract

The aim of this research was to examine the connection between sociometric status and school success, the dimensions of friendly relations and some socio-demographic characteristics of students. The research was conducted on a sample of 312 primary school students. By analyzing the dimensions of the quality of relationships among best friends, five sociometric statuses were identified: star student,rejected student, isolated student, controversial student, and average student. Significant differences in school achievement were found between all types of students. Rejected students have significantly lower overall achievement compared to controversial and average students, while star students have the highest share of excellent students. Gender proved to be a significant predictor of sociometric status and overall student achievement where female students were found to have a higher share among more popular students and have better overall performance at the end of the school year regardless of student subcategories by sociometric status. When examining the relationship between the dimensions of friendships and sociometric status of students, significant findings were found on how students assess their relationships with best friends, but due to the smaller number of individual categories of students in the sample it was found that there is no statistically significant relationship between variables of the dimension of friendly relations which is conceived as a composite variable based on the conducted factor analyzes.
The results of this research indicate a strong connection between the sociometric status and general success of primary school students, while in the context of the connection with the dimensions of friendly relations there is a necessity for expanding knowledge and more extensive research on the relations between students and their sociometric profile, which at this time the pandemic where the issue of mental health was further actualized, proves to be a high priority in the work of educational institutions.