Family background, sociometric peer nominations, and perceived control as predictors of academic achievement

This study investigated relationships between measures of family background, sociometric nominations, perceptions of control, and academic achievement in a sample of Turkish children. The analyses indicated that sociometric measures explained a substantial amount of variation in academic achievement. Perceptions of control emerged as significant predictors of popularity, but not of rejection measures. Parental educational background emerged as a significant predictor of perceptions of control. Both parental educational background and perceptions of control seemed to exert direct and indirect effects on children's grade point averages. The results partially support contextual explanations of academic achievement.