Relationship Between Teachers’ Ratings of Elementary School Students’ Social Skills and the Students’ School Satisfaction

Abstract

The present study investigated relations between students' social skills, measured by their teachers' ratings, and the students' satisfaction with school. Students (598 boys, 535 girls; Mage＝10.71 years) attending 7 public elementary schools completed questionnaires. Their homeroom teachers (N＝41; Mage＝36.51 years) rated the students'consideration for others and interpersonal relationship skills. Multilevel structural equation modeling revealed that, although the effect sizes were small, the students' scores on both of these social skills were correlated positively with satisfaction with school. Furthermore, the students' scores on both social skills were correlated positively with a sense of approval. Only their scores on skills of consideration for others were correlated negatively with a sense of victimization. The discussion deals with the benefits and limitations of using teachers' ratings as a measure of their students' social skills.