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PEER GROUP INFLUENCE AND THE TEACHING AND LEARNING ENVIRONMENT

CHAPTER ONE

INTRODUCTION

1.1            Background of the Study

Peer groups are among the most influential social forces affecting adolescent behavior from mundane decisions concerning clothing, hairstyle, music, and entertainment, to more significant decisions concerning short and long-term education plans. Variables of peer influence include the ethnicity of the students, the socio-economic background of the students, family relationships and group interests. During the adolescent years, peers are even considered more important than parents, guardians and teachers and the peer-influenced decisions of adolescents can have long-lasting consequences. Parents recognize the importance of peer groups and through their choice of neighborhoods, schools, and activities.

Peer effects in education are generally accepted to be of importance. Despite this assertion, there is no agreement on the direction of the effect peers have on one another. Different theories attempt to explain this and according to some of them the average ability of classmates has detrimental effect on one’s schooling outcomes while others imply that it enhances ones achievements (Marsh, 2005). Students could also be indirectly affected by their peers. This usually comes about through the way teachers react to different groups of students. One possible effect is that if students are sorted into classes based on their potential this might allow teachers to match instructions more closely to students needs because of more homogenous group, which would benefit all students. However, my primary purpose with this paper is to establish empirically the existence and direction of peer effects but not to distinguish the channels by which peer effects operate.

Aware of the importance of peer influence, both families and policy makers have included peer quality as a prominent element in educational decision making. For example, parents tend to seek for better companions for their children through residential choices and other school choice options. Many controversial education policies, such as vouchers, school desegregation, and ability tracking, intend to improve student performance through changing the composition of peers. Nevertheless, trying to identify peer effects is not an easy task. The most problematic issue is that families and students usually choose schools and peer groups where they share similar attributes with other members. Consequently, measures of peer features may just signal other unobservable individual factors that as well affect the outcomes, such as student willingness to work and parental ambition and resources. This endogenous choice leads to a selection bias problem. This creates a standard simultaneity bias problem, also termed as reflection problem by Manski (1993).

A great body of research advocates the positive peer impact represented in learning community, few studies were conducted to reveal a negative dimension of peer effect on academic performance (krik. A. Johnson, 2000). Communities are believed to absorb individual’s sense of responsibility that is believed to contribute to effective learning (J. Scott Armstrong, 2012). In social psychology, such a diffusion of responsibility among the members of the community results in social loafing making individuals exert less effort to achieve a common goal than if they would do individually (Karau. Steven J & Williams Kipling D, 1993, and Gilovich, T; Keltner, D & Nisbett R. E, 2006). Such a failure of belonging and irresponsibility have profound impact on students’ performance and continuous assessment. Negative peer pressure has been found to be associated with lower levels of school achievement nearly as much as they are with a Hispanic or African-American minority group in the US (krik. A Johnson, 2000). Consistent exposure to unhealthy company (e.g. bad roommate) can likewise have a negative influence on academic achievement. A study on peer effects and alcohol use among college students has shown that males who were assigned a roommate who drank alcohol prior to college obtained on average a lower GPA.

This contradiction in attribution as to whether peers have positive or negative impact has been resolved in Karau and Williams Collective Effort Model (1993, 2001). The model suggests that highly motivated individuals generate social facilitation (i.e. increasing one’s effort in the presence of others) whereas the less motivated individuals are likely to engage in social loafing (Forsyth, D. R, 2010). Moreover, Karau and Williams found that motivation correlates with the complexity and value of the goal (Forsyth, D. R, 2010); the more complicated a task is and the higher its value, the more motivated the individuals become. It is widely believed that peer group variables such as the ethnicity of the students, the socio-economic background of the students, family relationships and group interests have great impact on the academic performance of students

1.2            Statement of the Problem

Several researchers have been interested in discussing the link between social interactions among peers in school and academic outcomes for many years now. Several literatures have established the fact that students peer group influences social and academic development and that these influences begin at the very start of formal education. Influences and motivations for all kinds of children's behavior, including study habits and personal academic development, come not only from their peers, but also from their parents, teachers, and others with whom they come into close contact. Because of the amount of the time students spends each day with his or her friends, the peer influence on a undergraduates students can be very essential.

In addition, peer effects become more important as time passes, peaking somewhere during adolescence. Consequently, students must promote positive peer groups early so as to become well-adjusted adolescents and possibly adults. Having friends in school allows students to learn a host of skills: group interaction, conflict resolution, and trust building, among others. Absence of positive peer group interactions brings about serious social problems development.

1.3       Objectives of the Study

The main objective of this study is to determine the effect of peer group on academic performance of undergraduates of Nnamdi Azikiwe University Awka. Specific objectives include;

i.                 To evaluate the relationship between peer group and academic performance.

ii.               To determine concept and nature of peer group in study area

iii.             To find out if parent interest in knowing the peer group association of their children.

1.4       Research Questions

1.5       Research Hypotheses

H0: There is no significant impact of peer group on academic performance of undergraduates of Nnamdi Azikiwe University Awka.

Hi: There is a significant impact of peer group on academic performance of undergraduates of Nnamdi Azikiwe University Awka.

1.6       Significance of the Study

This study will be of immense benefit to other researchers who intend to know more on this study and can also be used by non-researchers to build more on their research work. This study contributes to knowledge and could serve as a guide for other study.

1.7       Scope of the Study

This study is on the influence of peer group on academic performance of undergraduates of Nnamdi Azikiwe University Awka.

1.8       Limitations of the study

The demanding schedule of respondents at work made it very difficult getting the respondents to participate in the survey. As a result, retrieving copies of questionnaire in timely fashion was very challenging. Also, the researcher is a student and therefore has limited time as well as resources in covering extensive literature available in conducting this research. Information provided by the researcher may not hold true for all businesses or organizations but is restricted to the selected organization used as a study in this research especially in the locality where this study is being conducted. Finally, the researcher is restricted only to the evidence provided by the participants in the research and therefore cannot determine the reliability and accuracy of the information provided.

Financial constraint: Insufficient fund tends to impede the efficiency of the researcher in sourcing for the relevant materials, literature or information and in the process of data collection (internet, questionnaire and interview).

Time constraint: The researcher will simultaneously engage in this study with other academic work. This consequently will cut down on the time devoted for the research work.

1.8       Definition of Terms

Peers: This refers to children of same sex and usually within the same age range.

Peer Group: This is the association of close friends of the same sex, which are bound together by common emotional attachment and have a complex social system of which they possess certain code of conduct such as dressing codes.

Peer Group Relationship: This is the form, way and why close friends of the same sex (peers) communicate among themselves whether in public or exclusively. 

Peer influence: peer influence can be described as the pressure adolescents feel from their peers.

Influence: This refers to the effect which an element has on another specific element.

Performance: how well or badly one does something

Academic Performance: This is the level of achievement attained through efforts or skills during the learning processes (theoretical and practical) and has effect on the standard of education. It also refers to the intellectual ability of an individual when it comes to academic or education.

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