Previous research showed that students with socio-emotional competencies have a closer connection to school (Panayiotou et al., 2019), and the learning programs of socio-emotional competencies have significant effects on academic performance and relationships with colleagues, teachers, and parents (Durlak et al., 2011; Panayiotou et al., 2019). The development of socio-emotional competencies needs to be included in all educational activities because helps students to improve their academic performance and motivation, set higher school expectations, manage stress better, or approach the learning process (Durlak et al., 2011). When students can deal with their emotions, behaviors, and adapt more easily to school requirements, they tend to report more positive school experiences, such as close peer relationships, social inclusion, and intrinsic motivation (Panayiotou et al., 2019). Students who learn in collaboration with teachers and colleagues can understand themselves and others, make the right decisions, and have more academic success compared to students who fail to do these things (Denham & Brown, 2010).

           Academic performance is closely related to students' self-concept, motivation, and expectations (Suárez-Álvarez et al., 2014). Academic success can be shaped by students' socio-emotional competencies, but socio-emotional competencies can be influenced by academic performance as well (Denham & Brown, 2010). Positive relationships between teachers and students enhance school commitment because they are a source of support for children, help them with academic activities, and facilitate the understanding of emotions and behaviors (Engels et al., 2021). Socio-emotional competencies and the relationships between students, context, and tasks influence the learning approach also (Panayiotou et al., 2019; Kember et al., 2004). On the other hand, the learning approach (i.e., deep or surface) can be affected and adapted according to the learning outcomes of a particular discipline. However, both the teachers and the students are responsible for the results: the teacher for structuring favorable conditions, and the students for their involvement and achievement, the learning approach being closely related to the relationships between student, context, and task (Kember, 2004). Learning is embedded in a social context. When children can understand themselves and others, accurately retrieve social information to make the best decisions, interact successfully, and adjust their behavior (Denham & Brown, 2010).

           Based on this information, the purpose of this paper was to find out if there is a link between socio-emotional competencies, learning approach, and academic performance in secondary school. Specifically, the study aimed to identify the relationships between the students' socio-emotional competencies and their preference for the learning approach. Two online questionnaires were distributed to 7th and 8th-grade students. The results showed statistically significant relations between socio-emotional competencies and the type of learning approach, as well as between socio-emotional competencies and academic performance. This suggests that it is essential for students to have skills related to self-awareness, the ability to manage impulses and emotions, social awareness, managing relationships with others, and making decisions responsibly.

To achieve the aim of the study, a quantitative methodology was used. Data were collected from a sample made of 80 students from 7th and 8th grades. The age of the participants varied between 12 and 15 (M = 13.78, SD = 0.70). 62.5 % were from urban areas and 37.5 % from rural areas. The research was carried out between April and May 2021. The questionnaires included informed consent and parental consent to participate in the research. The students were asked to answer all the questions as honestly as possible and were assured of the confidentiality of the data and the obtained results. The tools used were: (1) Social Emotional Competence Questionnaire (SECQ - Zhou &Ee, 2012). It includes 5 subscales: self-awareness, social awareness, self-management, managing relationships with others, and making decisions responsibly, each comprising 5 items. The answers are structured on a 6-step Likert scale, where 1 means “not true for me” and 6 means “very true for me”. The Cronbach's alpha internal consistency coefficient for the entire questionnaire is .942. (2) Revised Learning Process Questionnaire (R-LPQ-2F - Kember et al., 2004). This tool focuses on the students' attitudes towards learning and their usual way of learning and contains 22 items with two scales, each of them with a subscale. The scales assess surface learning, which includes surface motivation (reasons) and surface strategies; deep learning, which includes deep motivation (reasons) and deep strategies. Pupils had to choose on a 5-step Likert scale: 1 - "Always untrue" to 5 - "Always true”. The internal consistency coefficient was .913 (deep approach learning) .807 (surface approach learning), and .874 for the entire questionnaire. Academic performance (grades) was taken from the official documents of the schools and represented students’ performance in two disciplines: mathematics and Romanian literature.

The results showed statistically significant relationships between socio-emotional skills and the type of learning approach, as well as between socio-emotional skills and school performance. Also, we found differences between girls and boys regarding their surface motivation in learning, self-awareness, social awareness, and self-management of impulses and emotions. According to previous research, this study supports the need for programs to develop socio-emotional skills in schools, programs that can also increase academic performance, and a deep approach to learning. Also, promoting socio-emotional skills can change the school environment perception and can reduce various behavioral problems in schools (Divecha & Brackett, 2020; Espejo-Siles et al., 2020). For further research, it would be useful to analyze which activities have the greatest impact on the development of these students’ skills.

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