Abstract. This study explored the predictive power of effortful control (EC) on empathy, academic performance, and social competence in adolescents. We obtained self-report measures of EC and dispositional empathy in 359 students (197 girls and 162 boys) aged between 12 and 14 years. Each student provided information about the prosocial behavior of the rest of his/her classmates and completed a sociogram. At the end of the school year, we calculated the mean grade of each student and the teacher responsible for each class completed a questionnaire on the academic skills of his/her students. The study confirmed the existence of a structural equation model (SEM) in which EC directly predicted academic performance and social competence. Additionally, empathic concern partially mediated the effect of EC on social competence. Finally, social competence significantly predicted academic performance. The article discusses the practical applications of the model proposed.

Abstract. This study examined the relationship between executive functions (EFs) and school performance in primary and secondary school students aged 8 to 13 years (N = 146, M = 10.4, 45.8% girls). EFs were evaluated using the Trail Making Test (TMT), Verbal Fluency (VF), and the Stroop Test. Students' GPAs and teachers' assessment of academic skills were used to measure school performance. To evaluate the students' social behavior, participants were asked to rate all their classmates' prosocial behavior and nominate three students with whom they preferred to do school activities; teachers also provided evaluations of students' social skills. EF measures explained 41% (p = .003, f 2 = .694) of variability in school performance and 29% (p = .005, f 2 = .401) of variance in social behavior in primary school students. The predictive power of EFs was found to be lower for secondary school students, although the TMT showed significant prediction and explained 13% (p = .004, f 2 = .149) of variance in school performance and 15% (p = .008, f 2 = .176) in peer ratings of prosocial behavior. This paper discusses the relevance of EFs in the school environment and their different predictive power in primary and secondary school students.

The purpose of this study was to determine the predictive power of effortful control (EC) and empathy for perception of school climate. Self-report measures of EC, dispositional empathy, and perception of school climate were obtained for 398 students (204 females) aged 12 to 13. Sociometric status was peer-evaluated, and academic achievement was based on students final grades at the end of the school year. The structural equation model that was developed confirms the influence of EC and empathy on perception of school climate. The model manages to explain 39 % of the variance in perception of school climate and confirms that for males and females alike, the predictive power of EC and empathy is greater than for other variables studied such as academic achievement and sociometric status. Further, EC and empathy are found to have a positive influence on academic achievement. The importance of developing activities to foster EC and empathy in order to facilitate interpersonal relationships and enhance perception of the school climate is discussed.Knowledge of the factors that foster a good social climate in schools is a subject of great interest in most western countries (Díaz-Aguado Jalón et al. 2010;Thapa et al. 2012). The perception of a positive school climate is related to lower levels of aggression and violence in schools Eur J Psychol Educ (2015) 30:457-472

In this study, we explored the predictive role of behavioral measures of Executive Functions (EFs) and a self-report measure of Effortful Control (EC) on the academic performance of early adolescents. We also analyzed the mediating role of self-reported empathy and social behavior rated by peers (i.e., prosocial behavior and social preference) and by the lead teacher (i.e., social competence). A sample of 244 adolescents aged between 12 and 13 years participated in the study. The resulting structural equation model indicated that EFs and EC predict academic performance in a complementary and independent way. Results also confirmed the mediating role of empathy and social behavior. The final model explained 64% of academic performance. We discuss the appropriateness of obtaining complementary measures of EFs and EC in predictions of academic performance as well as the importance of

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