The Relationship Between Social-Emotional Skills and Academic Performance: A Gender Analysis

Social-emotional skills influence students’ academic performance and educational trajectory. However, their development and educational impact may vary according to gender. In Uruguay, the inclusion of these skills within the national educational achievement assessment system (Aristas) allows for analyzing their impact on mathematical and reading performance and contributes to understanding gender differences in learning. For this purpose, data from Aristas 2022, entailing a representative sample of students in the third grade of secondary education in Uruguay (n = 7915), were analyzed. Multilevel regression models were used to examine the relationship between social-emotional skills and mathematical and reading achievement scores, compared by gender. The results indicate that females perform better in reading and males in mathematics. Self-efficacy is the strongest predictor of performance in both areas, with a more significant effect on males in mathematics and females in reading. Metacognitive self-regulation is critical for reading performance, especially in females. Contrary to what the literature indicates, intrinsic motivation is negatively correlated with academic performance in both genders. Social-emotional skills have a different impact according to gender and subject area. Understanding these dynamics can help design educational policies promoting equity in learning, taking into account country-specific variations.