This longitudinal study investigates the impact of epistemic curiosity—both general curiosity and its subtypes—on scientific reasoning and domain-specific physics knowledge throughout elementary school. We explore whether curiosity is associated with science competencies beyond prior knowledge and cognitive factors, and whether its influence differs between scientific reasoning and science knowledge. While previous research suggests that deficit-driven curiosity (D-type) is primarily associated with scientific reasoning, we hypothesize that both D- type and interest-driven (I-type) curiosity contribute to science competencies, especially in elementary school age.

Parents of 122 children (mean age = 6.16 years; SD = 3.65 months in kindergarten; 71 girls) completed a 10-item epistemic curiosity questionnaire assessing I-type and D-type curiosity. Scientific reasoning was measured using the SK-I Inventory, and science knowledge was assessed with a test on physics concepts. Children were followed from kindergarten through grades 3 and 4.

Results revealed that scientific reasoning was significantly predicted by overall epistemic curiosity (but not by D-type alone) in Grades 1 and 3 (β = .203; .179, respectively), even when controlling for prior reasoning and intelligence. Science knowledge, in contrast, was predicted by I-type curiosity alone in Grades 1, 3, and 4 (β = .223; .245; .221, respectively).

These findings challenge prior assumptions that D-type curiosity drives scientific reasoning and emphasize the importance of both curiosity types, particularly in early years. As children mature, I-type curiosity plays a greater role in domain-specific knowledge. This study underscores curiosity’s critical, often underappreciated role in science competencies at the start of formal schooling.

Theory of mind (ToM) refers to the understanding of oneself and others as mental beings with subjective thoughts, beliefs and feelings that may not accurately reflect reality. Previous research suggests a theoretical connection between children’s theory-of-mind understanding and their social interactions with peers. However, the behavioural mechanisms driving this connection remain unclear, as do the contextual factors that may moderate ToM-behaviour links: highlighting the need for a meta-analysis.

To this end, the current meta-analysis combined 500+ effect sizes from 64 studies containing measures of 3–11-year-old children’s theory-of-mind understanding and their observed behaviour in the presence of at least one peer. Results showed a significant association between ToM and behaviour (r = 0.21, p<.001) that was not significantly moderated by child age, ToM measure, task context, group size or peer familiarity. There was also no significant moderating effect of behavioural valence, suggesting a similar strength of association between ToM and both adaptive and maladaptive social behaviours. Four sub-meta-analyses found that ToM was significantly associated with behavioural observations of (i) prosocial behaviour (r = 0.15, p<.001), (ii) cooperation and coordination (r = 0.17, p<.001), (iii) conflict (r = -0.10, p = .003),and (iv) pretend play enactment (r = 0.13, p =.035) in peer contexts.

Together, results showed a small-to-medium-sized association between children’s ToM and the behaviour they display during peer interactions. The absence of any contextual moderation effects may reflect the consistency of influence ToM has on children’s behaviours; however, this conclusion should be tempered by the substantial heterogeneity in an extant literature where features of peer partners and the broader interactional context are not always clearly reported or considered in analyses. Further systematic research using designs that allow for the comparison of children’s behaviour across multiple contexts is needed to better understand how these factors might impact ToM-behaviour links.

The critical role of peer friendships in promoting child well-being and fostering adaptive social development is widely acknowledged. It is thus important to understand the mechanisms that allow children to forge and maintain friendships. One candidate is Theory of Mind (ToM), the understanding that other people’s behavior is influenced by their thoughts and feelings, even when these are incongruent with external reality. While there is evidence that ToM is associated with friendship in the early school years, very few studies have investigated this issue in middle childhood. The present study breaks new ground by investigating the bidirectional relation between ToM and friendships across middle childhood using a longitudinal design comprising four waves over two years. Crucially, this study examined the ability to forge (i.e. number of new friendship dyads across two years) and maintain friendships (i.e. maximum duration of friendship). 194 Italian primary school children (Mage = 9.4 years; 47% girls; 28% with one or both parents of non-Italian origin) were assessed at four time points over two years. ToM was measured using a multi-modal battery comprising the Strange Stories, Silent Films, and Triangles tasks. Reciprocal friendships were assessed at all four time points using Friendship Nominations (Parker & Asher, 1993). Latent growth curve models revealed that the initial level of ToM predict the duration of friendship and that the number of new friendship dyads across two years predicted change in ToM over time, even after controlling potential confounds including language ability and group popularity. This study provides novel insights into the relation between ToM and friendships.

School is one of the most important contexts in children’s lives, where they spend numerous hours each day focused on knowledge acquisition and academic performance. The school context also plays a crucial role in shaping sociocognitive and emotional skills, and fostering outcomes such as well-being and executive functions (EF). This study examines two types of school contexts (Lillard, 2023): 1) Child-Environment Interplay (CEI) model, based on a constructivist, child-centered approach that incorporates developmental psychology, and 2) Teacher-Text-Centered Learning (TTC) model, where developmental needs are subordinated to the focus on the teacher, textbooks, and grades. Research suggests CEI contexts may support more balanced development. However, evidence is limited and findings inconsistent. The study assessed 150 children from preschool and elementary grades, attending either CEI (N=95) or TTC (N=55) schools, on well-being and EF. School well-being was evaluated using a questionnaire on sense of belonging, environment, and aggression. EF was assessed through tasks measuring inhibitory control, working memory, and cognitive flexibility. A higher aggression was found in TTC schools compared to CEI schools (B = –.725, p = .087). No significant direct effects were found for EF by school (B = –.0283, p = .875), but school moderated the relationship between variables (B = .173, p = .043): in TTC schools, higher EF scores were associated with lower perceived school well-being (B = –0.144, p = .044). A similar interaction was found for environment (B = .528, p = .034): in TTC schools, higher EF scores were linked to worse perceptions of school environment (B = –0.192, p = .026). A significant main effect of perceived aggression on EF was also found (B = –0.224, p = .035), regardless of school. All models included covariates (fluid intelligence, age, years at school, and SES), and showed good fit (Adjusted R² ≈ 0.52–0.53).

Teachers feel less efficient and tend to have fewer warm relationships with students with special educational needs (SEN) compared to students without SEN (e.g., Blacher et al., 2014; Prino et al., 2016; Van Mieghem et al., 2020). The quality of the student-teacher relationship (STR) is well studied in English- and Dutch-speaking countries, but studies are missing in France, and the evaluation of the relationship from the child’s perspective is still lacking.

This cross-sectional research has two main goals: (1) to compare the quality of the STR according to the child’s development (with or without SEN) (2) to explore the factors involved in the potential differences observed, such as the child’s characteristics, the teacher’s characteristics, the school level and context.

The current sample included 130 students aged from 5.3 to 10.11 years, all recruited in the North-East of France. The results may change because the sample will soon increase due to the implementation of a second data collection starting in January 2025.

Preliminary results show that girls in kindergarten report being closer to their teacher than their male classmates, whereas boys feel more conflict compared to the girls. The result regarding conflict is also observed for the upper elementary students. From kindergarten to third grade, teachers evaluate also their relationship with female students with more proximity. Moreover, across all educational levels, teachers feel closer with their students without SEN than with SEN. They also struggle more to promote their academic engagement. Finally, the conflict perceived by the teacher is strongly and positively associated with their own perception of the student’s cognitive and emotional regulation at all grade levels.

Understanding the factors influencing the quality of the STR can help to promote it. In turn, a positive STR enhances students’ school adjustment and protects the most vulnerable children (e.g., Baker, 2006).