INFLUENCE OF PEER GROUP ON ACADEMIC PERFROMANCE OF SENIOR STUDENTS IN SECONDARY SCHOOLS

TABLE OF CONTENTS
COVER PAGE – – – – – – – – I
DECLARATION PAGE- – – – – – – – II
APPROVAL PAGE – – – – – – – – III
DEDICATION PAGE – – – – – – – IV
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS – – – – – – – V
TABLE OF CONTENTS – – – – – – – VI
ABSTRACT – – – – – – – – – VIII

CHAPTER ONE
INTRODUCTION
1.1 BACKGROUND OF THE STUDY – – – – – 1
1.2 STATEMENT OF THE PROBLEM – – – – – 7
1.3 PURPOSE OF THE STUDY – – – – – – 8
1.4 RESEARCH QUESTIONS – – – – – – 9
1.5 RESEARCH HYPOTHESES – – – – – – 9
1.6 SIGNIFICANCE OF THE STUDY – – – – – 10
1.7 SCOPE OF THE STUDY – – – – – – 11
1.8 OPERATIONAL DEFINITION OF TERMS – – – – 11

CHAPTER TWO
REVIEW OF RELEVANT LITERATURE
2.1 CONCEPT OF PEER GROUP – – – – – – 13
2.2 CONCEPT OF ACADEMIC ACHIEVEMENT – – – 16
2.3 THE EFFECT OF PEER GROUPS RELATIONSHIP ON ACADEMIC
PERFORMANCE – – – – – – – 20
2.3.1 Positive Influence of Peer Group on Academic Achievement – 26
2.3.2 Negative Influence of Peer Group on Academic Achievement – 27
2.4 PARENTS INFLUENCE ON PEER GROUP RELATIONSHIP – 29
2.5 TEACHER’S INFLUENCE ON PEER GROUP RELATIONSHIP 33
2.6 EMPIRICAL STUDIES – – – – – – – 37
2.7 SUMMARY OF LITERATURE REVIEW – – – – 41
CHAPTER THREE
METHOD AND PROCEDURE
3.1 RESEARCH DESIGN – – – – – – – 43
3.2 POPULATION AND SAMPLE – – – – – 43
3.3 SAMPLING TECHNIQUE – – – – – – 44
3.4 INSTRUMENT FOR DATA COLLECTION – – – – 44
3.4.1 Description of instrument – – – – – – 44
3.4.2 Development of Instrument – – – – – – 45
3.5 VALIDITY AND RELIABILITY – – – – – 45
3.6 PROCEDURES FOR ADMINISTRATION OF INSTRUMENT – 46
3.7 METHOD OF DATA ANALYSIS – – – – – 46

CHAPTER FOUR
RESULTS AND DISCUSSION
4.1 RESULTS – – – – – – – – 48
4.2 TEST OF HYPOTHESIS – – – – – – 55
4.3 DISCUSSION OF FINDINGS – – – – – 59

CHAPTER FIVE
SUMMARY, CONCLUSION AND RECOMMENDATIONS
5.1 SUMMARY OF FINDINGS – – – – – – 66
5.2 CONCLUSION – – – – – – – – 68
5.3 RECOMMENDATIONS – – – – – – 68
5.4 LIMITATIONS OF THE STUDY – – – – 70
5.5 SUGGESTION FOR FURTHER STUDIES – – – – 70
REFERENCES – – – – – – – 72
APPENDIX – – – – – – – – 75

ABSTRACT
This study examined the influence of peer group on the academic achievement of SS1 students in Jos North Local Government Area: Counselling Implication. The study adopted survey research design whereby a sample size of 20 schools was extracted (10 of which were private and the other 10 public schools) in Jos North LGA. The study used simple random sampling to select 20 respondents in each of the 20 selected schools making a total of 200 respondents. Questionnaire developed by the researcher known as influence of peer group on academic performance of senior students in secondary schools, the instrument of the study was used to generate data needed for the study in which percentage distribution and Chi-Square (X2) were used to analyze the data. From the analysis, the study discovered that there is a significant relationship between peer influence and academic performance of SS1 Students and the influence varies across gender, age and school; there is significant peer influence on young students between the ages of 12-14, male students as well as private school students. The study also discovered that parents show interest in the academic achievement of students but do not know many of their children’s friends, teachers also show interest in the academic achievement of students but are lacking in knowing the kinds of friends students keep in school. Also, the study discovered that there is need for guidance and counselling services to observe students and help them choose of right friends that will help them in their academic achievement. The study therefore recommended that: counselling services is imperative for students in order to guide them in the selection of friends that will enhance their academic achievement, teachers and parents alike should monitor students closely to discern the kind of friends they keep and encourage them students to move around with intelligent students that will boost their academic grades, students – both male and female should adopt the habit of discussing class issues and studying with friends, and students should avoid following bad company friends that will lead to social vices and deviate them academic achievement.

CHAPTER ONE
INTRODUCTION
1.1 BACKGROUND OF THE STUDY
Peer group is a group of people of same age or social status (The Oxford Advanced Dictionary, 2001). The peer group is the first social group outside the home in which the child attempts to gain acceptance and recognition. Peer group is an important influence throughout one’s life but they are more critical during the developmental years of childhood and adolescence. Adolescents always emulate their mates in whatever form of behaviour they exhibit, particularly that which interest them thus, since socialization only refer to changes in behavior, attitudes having their origin in interaction with other persons and those which occur through integration, a child learn more through interaction with peers.
Socialization being a life-long process cannot be limited to the family members alone. As a child grows older and more matured, it becomes more necessary for the external bodies to be involved in his/her life. The family is not expected to provide all the education required by the growing child. The school which is an established academic institution in which the behaviour of an individual is sharpened to get him/her equipped for occasional socialization. In the school system, the child gets into the social group of “like-minds” and interest. As a result of the various attitudes, skills, knowledge is acquired through role-play. Peer group as an agent of socialization is the most important socializing agent for the developing child. Peer group is the pivot ofsocial change and during interaction with the peers; the child’s life is transformed from the helpless child into a matured adult.
Each peer group has its code of conduct which does not always conform to adult standards. The important thing is that each child takes his/her membership of the peer very serious and attempts to do anything to ensure he/she is accepted and recognized. Lack of acceptance by the peer disturbs the child especially at adolescent age. Some children have been known to do badly in school not because they lack the academic ability to do well but because they are disturbed by the fact they are not accepted by their peer group. What makes learning comparative is the fact that the child has equal status with the other children. There is an atmosphere of freedom in which each child learns the way of the world from others. The peer group thus becomes more and more important to the child as he advances in age. Other ways in which the peer group can help the child include; teaching the culture of the society at large, making possible social mobility, providing opportunity for the child to play many social roles such as that of a leader, a follower, teacher or student. The peer group also helps the child to win his/her independence easily from domination and set before him a goal which is more easily attainable than the expectation of an adult. This in itself provides motivation for learning and is mainly responsible for the fact that all children at one stage or the other regard their membership off peer group as very important.
When the family is not sportive for instance, if the parents work extra jobs and are largely unavailable, their children may turn to their peer for emotional support. This also occurs when there is conflict. Between parents and children during adolescence or at any stage during a child’s development becomes so great that the child feels pushed away and seeks company elsewhere. Most children and adolescents in this position do not discriminate about the kind of group they join. They will often turn to a group simply because the group accepts them even if the group is involved in negative tendency (Peter Smith and Anthony Pellegrini, 2001). The need for affection or closeness is often greater than the need to do the right thing. For some adolescents who feel isolated and abandoned by members of their family being part of a peer group provides such individual with acceptance and security not available at home. In the Nigeria society today, the influence of peer group cannot be over emphasized in a child’s life most especially child education. Peer group has in one way or the other influenced the life of children both academically, socially, morally, psychologically and otherwise. Socialization such as family, religion, mass media and school among others help in modifying the behaviour of the child. The peer groups forms the main basis through which the child learns a lot of empirical facts about his physical and social environment, acquisition of skills and value as well as attitude for a better future.
Peer group can simply be said to be people of the same age and ability, that is, people who are knitted together by a feeling derived by a common concern as seekersof what was desirable for the group. The peer group is the child own friends, and equal member of the group often have common characteristics or interest. The peer group interests are short range and temporary (Ezewu, 2002). Moreso, the children change their peer group members as they go through different stages of development and can belong to a member of peer group at the same time. In some cases, members roles are less defined, they change frequently, in some, it may not be clear who is a member and who is not. In group, the child holds a certain position and each is expected to think and behave in a certain way. The peer group sets out certain standard for the group and they also have norms and values which they follow. The peer group influences are more pronounced and noted in secondary school than in primary schools, partly because some of the children go away from home and stay in boarding schools where parental supervision and curtail is very limited. The influence of peer group on the child is great both in and out of the school, because there is the tendency for members to be comfortable with the group norms and values. Sometimes peer group influence may lead to aggressive behavior such as (rioting in school).
Peer group influence also prompt students to form clique with nicknames such as terror, snake, tempo, shark, etc. students are always anxious to initiate their peers whether good or bad, they would want to go to the church or mosque due to their peer influences. They may also join different clubs like girls guide, boys scout, brigade, Red Cross etc. The peer group has their own “acceptance” which they have to consider before a child could be accepted or rejected from a group. Some of these characteristics that are likely to make a child to be accepted to a group are friendship, sociality and introversion. Much may also depend on what a particular group values as qualities in its members. Formation of peer group may occur when frustration sets in as a result of conflict with family members, adult and societal norms. Effects are usually made to compensate for rejection and uses leisure profitably. Through the formation of peer group, the child will wait to gain freedom from home in order to be loyal to the group. In another way, formation of peer group may occur from each extensive interaction with others initiate relationship develops and by these contacts, important attitudes and values are formed. The attitudes may influence the child’s academic achievement either positively or negatively. The negative aspect which could be detrimental to students’ academic work are the cases of group behaviour such as truancy, persistent lateness of school, juvenile delinquency, stealing, absenteeism from school, disobedience, laziness, disregarding school rules and regulations etc. on the other hand, the influence could be geared towards positive aspect of students’ academic achievement for instance, the students could be influenced socially, psychologically, intellectually etc. and all these boost academic achievement e.g. forming reading group, going to the library, anxious to join others in answering questions in the classroom and making friends with brilliant students especially in the area of mathematics, English language, social studies etc.
Also, there are some important functions that the peer group plays which greatly influences the academic achievement of students. They are as follows:
1. They provide the peer group with a considerable degree of emotional security, which help in the intellectual development of the child.
2. The peer group provides the students with a wide variety of experience which can boost their academic achievement
3. They also provide the opportunity for the development of loyalties that goes beyond the immediate family e.g. political and social loyalties, which are important for future adjustment.
4. They provide a wide number of males that will be helpful in the development of identity diffusion.
5. The peer group facilitates pre-adolescent transition from the family of peer orientation
6. They provide opportunities for interpersonal relationship
The peer group provides the standard of thought and behaviour to be pursued by its members and they established the attitudes, opinions and ideas which they are to adopt. It is through these peer groups that cultures are established which will provide variations in standards of education and so on.
1.2 STATEMENT OF THE PROBLEM
There have been downward trend in academic achievement in school adolescents in Nigeria secondary schools in general. Parents, teachers, curriculum experts have also expressed consideration concern about this poor achievement in external examination such as West Africa Examination Council (WAEC) NECO and NABTEB. So also are teachers and school counsellors. These groups of individuals tend to point accusing fingers on influence of negative peer pressure as being responsible for poor academic achievement. These factors are suspected for the luring of adolescents into engagement in negative habits such as excessive drinking of alcohol, smoking of Indian hemp, engagement in unhealthy sexual behaviour, cultist activities and other maladjustive behaviours that distract them from academic pursuit. These unhealthy behaviours of adolescents which in turn impacts poor academic achievement make the researcher to ask “why Nigerian adolescents are not very concern about the current trend on their academic achievement in examination? Could it be that they are insensitive to the possible negative influence of peer pressure and on their academic achievement?”
The low academic achievement in schools brought the need to investigate the factors influencing learning. The peer group influence is one of the factors causing low academic achievement. There is need to look into peer group relationship and individual approach to learning, membership of the peer group they belong and find out how factor such as sex, age, social status or ethnicity determine their membership in a group. In addition, what influence do parents and teachers have on the group?
1.3 PURPOSE OF THE STUDY
The main purpose of the study is to determine the influence of peer group on academic achievement of senior SS1 students in Jos North Local Government Area, Plateau State: Counselling Implication. Specifically, the study intends to:
The main purpose of the study is to determine the influence of peer group on academic achievement of senior secondary schools students in Jos North Local Government Area, Plateau State. Specifically, the study intends to:
1. To investigate the extent to which peer group affect academic achievement of students.
2 To know the degree to which parents show interest in knowing the peer group association of their children.
3 To ascertain the level to which teachers show interest in knowing the peer group association of their children.
4 To examine the extent to which age determine peer influence on academic achievement of students.
5 To find out whether peer influence determines variation in academic achievement of male and female students.
6 To find out the extent of the counselling implication on peer pressure for SS1 students.
1.4 RESEARCH QUESTIONS
The following are the research questions of the study:
1. What is the influence of peer group on the academic performance of SS1 students?
2. To what extent do parents show interest in knowing the peer group association of their children?
3. To what extent do teachers show interest in knowing the peer group of their students?
4. What is the counselling implication on peer pressure for SS1 students?
1.5 RESEARCH HYPOTHESES
Ho1: There is no significant relationship between peer group and academic performance of senior secondary school students in Jos North
Ho2: There is no significant relationship between age and peer influence on academic achievement of SS1 Students
1.6 SIGNIFICANCE OF THE STUDY
It is the hope of the researcher that if this study is carried out, it will be of great benefit to different people, particularly to students, counsellors, teachers, school and researchers.
To the counsellor, it will help to create discipline in the life of adolescent. When this is done, there will be sanity, peace and order, which will enhance the moral tone of the school as well as the society. It will also help the counsellor to know the right technique to adopt in modifying negative peer pressure.
To the teacher, the teacher will equally benefit from the findings of the study because the findings will help them know what is expected of them as they are role models.
To the school, the findings of the study will directly lead to the raising of our standard of education because experience has shown that disciplined students learn faster and perform better academically than undisciplined students. Therefore, the finding of this study will help the school produce students who can contribute meaningfully towards the development of the nation in future.
To the students, this study will help students to inculcate good behaviour, the teachers and counsellors will help them in developing in all areas of their lives whether socially, academically or morally. The study is mainly for the students who will later improve the students and make them better people of the society in the future.
The findings of the study will be made known to public by organizing conferences, workshops and seminars to inform them of the positive and negative effect of peer pressure and proper utilization of time. This will help sensitize school adolescents by making them to be aware of the merits of good peer pressure. Finally, the results of the work will be of great help to future researchers. This will be a source of research materials or empirical data for them.
1.7 SCOPE OF THE STUDY
The study will focus on the influence of peer group on academic achievement of SS1 students. The study will be carried out in some selected senior secondary schools in Jos North Local Government Area of Plateau State.
1.8 OPERATIONAL DEFINITION OF TERMS
Influence: This refers to the effect which an element has on another specific Element.
Peer: This refers to children of same sex and usually with the same age range. Group: A number of people or things that are together in the same place, orthat are connected in some ways.
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 code.
Academic achievement: This is the level of achievement attained throughefforts or skills during the learning processes (theoretical and practical) and has effect on the standard of education.