Children’s social acceptance and academic achievement in Zimbabwean multicultural school settings

Children's social acceptance as measured by sociometric ratings was examined in relation to their grade point averages. The sample consisted of 376 upper-middle-class, 12- to 13-year-old Zimbabwe Black and White school children and their teachers (N = 13). Multiple regression analysis indicated that, taking into account ethnicity, sex, family size, and number of languages spoken, social acceptance measures accounted for a significant proportion of the variance in the children’s academic achievement. Within social acceptance measures, the children’s actual rather than perceived social acceptance explained a greater proportion of the variance in their academic achievement.