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PEER GROUP INFLUENCE AND ACADEMIC PERFORMANCE OF

SECONDARY SCHOOL STUDENTS IN ENGLISH LANGUAGE

BY

BASSEY, INYANG ODO

E-mail: [email protected]

Phone: +2347068517039

ABSTRACT

The study was on the influence peer group on the academic performance

secondary school students in English language in Calabar Municipality of Cross

River State, Nigeria. To carry out the purpose of the research, a null hypothesis

was formulated to guide the study. Descriptive research design was utilised for

the research. A sample size of two hundred (200) respondents was selected

randomly for the study through the simple random sampling technique. A

questionnaire and an English Language achievement test were the instruments

used in the collection data. The instruments were subjected to face and content

validation by experts in measurement and evaluation. The reliability estimates of

the instruments were established through test-re-test reliability method. Pearson

moment product correlation analysis was the statistical tool adopted to test the

hypothesis at 0.05 level of significance. The result of the finding revealed that

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peer group significantly influences the academic performance secondary school

students in English Language. Based on the finding, it was recommended that

students should be on the type of friends they keep so as not to fall into the

company of bad friends (peer) who may influence them negatively.

Key words: Academic performance, peer group, influence,

INTRODUCTION

Peer group plays an important part throughout one’s life. It is more crucial

during the developmental years of learners. The child’s peer group consists of

people or individuals that are within an age bracket. The school serves as the

primary setting for the membership of a peer group. They may be in the same

class.

The educational foundation of a child starts right from the home in an

informal way before the child is sent to school for formal education. At school,

the child is exposed to classmates, teachers and peers (Ryan, 2012). They all

influence the child in one way or the other. The peer group is therefore the first

social group outside the home which the child interacts with. Each peer group has

its code of conduct which may not always conform to advanced standard.

Peer group is the pilot of social change and during interaction the child’s

life is transformed from helplessness into mature adult. According to

Castrogiovanni (2002) a peer group is a small group of about the same age, fairly

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close friends, sharing the same activities. In general, peer groups or cliques

are essential to social and general development. Communication with fellow peer

group members increases significantly during adolescence, and peer relationship

becomes more intensive than in other stages (Papalia, Feldman & Kruk, 2004).

High quality friendship may enhance students’ development regardless of the

characteristics of those friends. As children begin to bond with various people and

create friendships, it helps them as adolescents and set up a framework for

adolescent life and peer group interaction.

Peer group is an agency of acculturation and learning. Every child

develops a sense of self from their perception of important people in their

surroundings, relations, teachers and peers. As a child leaves the home setting,

self-perception and socialization takes place. When children move out from their

family to schools and the community at large, they begin to form attachment, and

friendship results as they play together (Landau, 2002). This relationship

influences behaviour. Peer group influence on students’ academic performance

greatly depends on the skills and potentials of the students. As a child grows up,

his/her own peer group or companion is likely to be of greater importance to the

child than even the parents and teachers.

It is believed that students feel more comfortable and relaxed among

friends. A student who is brilliant and surrounded by dull friends may lose interest

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in learning. On the other hand, peer group that is inclined to study will have

positive effect on the dull members towards academic work. Peer group

influences academic performance in various ways. One of the ways is through

model similarity. A student observing his or her successful peer can raise his or

her self-motivation to perform better. In school set up teachers can take advantage

of peer group to plan group activities for learning and to promote peer counseling.

However, peer group may socialize negatively (Ukume, Uguma & Agbinya,

2020). An example is when they inculcate antisocial behaviour, immoral conduct,

and experiment with drugs. (Thungu, Wandera & Gachie, 2008)

Peer group influence could be negative or positive. Positive influences

could be volunteering for community and social activities, participating in sports,

and other productive endeavours (De Guzman, 2007, Omojuwa & Uguma, 2003).

Negative peer group leads an adolescent student to be involved in antisocial

behaviours (Howard & Medway, 2004). Peer influence is not a simple process

where a child is a passive recipient of influence from others. In fact, peers who

become friends already have a lot of behaviourial traits in common. Peers with

similar interest and similar academic standing enjoy doing the same thing; they

gravitate towards each other (De Guzman, 2007).

Adolescents are always exposed to peer influences. Influence could be

mode dressing, substance abuse or other anti-social behaviours (Temitope &

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Christy, 2015). Literature indicates that peers who are interested in academic

issues are more likely to associate with fellow peers who have same interest. They

study together, sharing materials and information with fellow peers who are

motivated to learn. For instance, it has been noted by Landau, (2002) that,

students who form positive peer group make more effort during learning, doing

social activities, and fear to engage in delinquent activities. However, Ryan

(2012) argues that those students who are identified as jock popular perceive more

pressure in the area of social involvement than pressure towards misconduct.

Peer group according to Bankole and Ogunsakin (2016) provides a sense

of security and helps adolescents to ask questions relating to social identity theory

such as ‘who am I?’ and ‘what do I want out of life?’ Many peer groups can exert

a positive influence on their friends. It is thought that intelligent students do help

their peers by bringing up their academic performances. Likewise students with

good friends who are considered intelligent tend to do better in school: all

attributed to the fact that they share a common team of similar aspiration (Landau,

2002). Adolescent period is a time an individual makes important decisions on

commitment to academics. Young students begin to ask questions such as ‘is

English language important to me’? ‘Why do I want to spend my time studying

English”? The choices that adolescents make regarding their motivation re-

engagement and achievement in school (and life) and the satisfaction they obtain

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from their choices depend in part on the context in which they make such choices.

The kind of peers a student identifies with and depends on, will determine the

kind of influence the group will have on his academic achievement.

Peer influence on academic achievement depends on the students’ self-

identity, self-esteem and self-reliance. Peer influence can mobilize students’

energy and motivate for success. Peers can act as positive role models. If a student

is influenced negatively, it affects his academic performance. Stronger students do

have some impact on their peers and improves the overall academic performance.

Attitudes and aspirations of peers as well as peer expectations and standards affect

individual effort and achievement in school (Uguma & Usani, 2016).

However, it is through the peer group that students are more likely to be

introduced to problem behaviour such as drinking, smoking and low academic

performance results. Positive peer influence generates more alternative solution to

problems, proposes more mature solution and are less aggressive than students

who are influenced negatively. It is thought that intelligent students do help their

peers bring up their academic performance. Girls with good friends who are

considered intelligent tend to do better in school, all attributable to the fact that

they share a common team of similar aspirations (Landau, 2002; Timothy &

Uguma, 2017). Also there are some peer group members who can exert negative

influence on their friends and this group tends to share low aspirations of going to

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tertiary institution to pursue certain careers. There may be other values in place,

such as taking care of the family or making quick money rather than pursuing

education first (Ide, 2006).

RESEARCH METHOD

Descriptive design was used in the research. The study area was Calabar

Municipality Area of Cross River State Nigeria. The sampling technique adopted

for this study was the simple random sampling technique. The purpose of using

the technique was to compose a sample that would yield research data that can be

generalized to a larger sample. The sample for the study consisted of two hundred

(200) respondents randomly selected from the study area. The instruments

adopted for data collection were a questionnaire and an achievement test. The

study instruments were validated by two experts in measurement and evaluation.

The reliability estimate was obtained through test re-test method. Pearson product

moment correlation was used to test the hypothesis, at 0.05 level of significance.

RESULT

The null hypothesis states that there is no significant relationship between

negative peer group influence and academic performance of students in English

language. Pearson product moment correlation statistics was used to test the

hypothesis and result is presented in Table 1.

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TABLE 1

Pearson product moment correlation between peer group influence and academic

performance of students in English language. (N = 200)

Variables Ẍ SD r

Peer group influence 14.27 3.07

0.49

Academic performance 26.62 5.41

P<0.05; df = 198; critical r-value = 0.159

The result in Table 1 shows that the calculated r-value of 0.53 was found

to be greater than the critical r-value of 0.159 at 0.05 level of significance, with

198 degrees of freedom. With this result, the null hypothesis was rejected. This

means that the more students are influenced positively by their peers, the better

the students’ performance in English language.

Discussion

The hypothesis sought to investigate the relationship between peer group

influence and academic performance of secondary school students. The result of

the hypothesis reveals that there is a significant relationship between peer group

influence and the academic performance of students. The finding is in tandem

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with Morrish (2002) says that the individual child is motivated not simply by his

or her own basic needs and drives, but also by stimulation provided by his or her

peers. The motivation goes a long way by influencing the academic performance

of the student. Ryan (2012) observes that association with friends who serve as

academic resources could have direct and positive influence on students’

achievement at school. According to the author, parents may have less influential

role than peers’ influence.

Peer influence establishes values, attitudes, self-esteem and peer tutoring.

The finding of this study reflects what Ryan (2012) has noted, that when teachers

become less supportive and more indifferent, peer group influence takes the upper

hand in changing students attitudes to school. This will not be the case if teachers

were deeply involved in students’ affairs. A typical student learns from his/her

discussions with peers and is motivated to learn more. Peers can be motivated by

working together. The quality of peers could affect a wide range of students’

academic outcomes. This finding concurs with that of Landau (2002) that students

who form positive peer group make more effort during learning also fear to

engage in delinquent activities.

CONCLUSION /RECOMMENDATION

From the result it was clear that there is significant relationship between peer

group influence and academic performance of students. Based on the finding,

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it was recommended that students should be advised by teachers and parents

on the kind of friends they keep.

REFERENCES

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De Guzman, M. R. (2007). Friendship, peer influence and peer pressure during

the teen years. University of Nebraska-Lincoln, Nebraska.

Ide, S. (2006). Peer group influence on educational outcomes. A Quantitative

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Landau, A. (2002). Peer groups and educational outcome. London: MacDonald

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Howard, B. & Medway, F. J. (2004). Adolescents’ attachment and coping with

stress. Psychology in schools,41(3), 391-402

Morrish, J. (2002). The sociology of education: an introduction. London: George

Allen and Unwin.

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Omojuma, J. O. & Uguma, V. U. (2003). Gender and environmental differences

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