Social-Emotional Profiles and Fluctuations in Mathematic Achievement: A Multiple Discriminant Analysis of Elementary School Students

Students’ social-emotional competencies may influence academic achievement, yet it remains unclear whether these competencies differentiate students according to changes in mathematics report-card scores. This study described and compared elementary school students’ social-emotional profiles, including self-control, social anxiety, and relationship skills, across groups with increased, stable, and decreased mathematics scores. It also identified the dimensions that contributed most strongly to group differentiation. A quantitative, comparative, cross-sectional design was employed. The sample comprised 313 students in Grades 4–6 from five public elementary schools, selected through purposive-convenience sampling. Data were collected using an adapted Social and Emotional Learning Competency Scale and official report-card records. Students were classified according to changes in mathematics scores across two consecutive semesters: increased (n = 80), stable (n = 159), and decreased (n = 74). Multiple Discriminant Analysis was conducted using IBM SPSS 25. The discriminant functions formed from the three social-emotional dimensions were not statistically significant, χ²(6) = 6.772, p = .342; therefore, the hypothesis was not supported. Nevertheless, self-control showed the strongest correlation with Function 1 (r = .878), and the group centroids indicated that higher self-control was more characteristic of students whose scores increased. These findings suggest that internal social-emotional competencies alone are insufficient to explain changes in mathematics achievement. Such changes are likely multidimensional and influenced by interpersonal, instructional, and contextual factors. This study provides preliminary evidence regarding the discriminative capacity of social-emotional competencies in explaining mathematics score changes among Indonesian elementary school students.