THE INFLUENCE OF PEER PRESSURE ON ACADEMIC PERFORMANCE OF STUDENTS IN PUBLIC SECONDARY SCHOOLS IN AWKA SOUTH LOCAL GOVERNMENT AREA ANAMBRA STATE

ABSTRACT: The study was carried out to ascertain the influence of peer pressure on the academic performance of students in public schools in Awka South Local Government Area. Four research questions were used as a guide and descriptive survey design was adopted, the population comprised of 11,982 students in public Secondary schools in the area of study out of which a sample of 250 was used. Instrument used for data collection was a questionnaire of 18 items designed with a four- scale response options. The arithmetic mean was used for data analysis. The findings of the study indicated that there is a relationship between peer pressure and academic performance of public secondary school students in Awka South Local Government Area because what a student does is often determined by their peers, peers engage in group discussion with friends before examination, students who hangs out with their peer group no longer read their books, students normally abandon their classes to hang out with peers and students who do not belong to a peer group performs more better than their counterparts who do. It was also revealed that negative peer pressure influence students academic performance in public secondary school, this can be seen on the poor grades by students, disruption in students learning capability, limits students excellence in classroom behavior and extracurricular activities affects students cognitive growth and functions. The following recommendations were made by the researcher; efforts should be made by teachers and guidance councilors to encourage peers them to maintain the good and healthy relationship, this can be done by establishing classroom peer policies, communicating effectively, among others. School authorities and teachers should employ an authoritative role and stepping back to allow individual freedom. Teachers can increase their personal awareness of adolescent social systems by investing more energy in getting to know their students and the groups to which they belong. In the classroom, teachers should avoid making achievement a game of winners and losers.

TABLE OF CONTENTS

Content                                                                                            Page

TITLE PAGE                                                                          I

APPROVAL PAGE                                                                II

CERTIFICATION                                                                            III

DEDICATION                                                                        IV

ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS                                                     V

ABSTRACT                                                                            VII

TABLE OF CONTENT                                                          VIII

LIST OF TABLE                                                                     XII

APPENDICES                                                                        XII

CHAPTER ONE: INTRODUCTION                                            1       

Background to the Study                                                                  1

Statement of the Problem                                                                  7

Significance of the Study                                                                  9

Purpose of the Study                                                             10

Scope of the Study                                                                            11

Research Questions                                                                 12

CHAPTER TWO: REVIEW OF RELATED LITERATURE         13       

          Conceptual framework                                                         14

Peer Pressure                                                                          14

Academic Performance                                                           18

Theoretical Framework                                                                  24

Bandura’s Social Learning Theory                                         24

Hirchi’s Social Control Theory                                                        26

Theoretical Studies                                                                28

Relationship between Peer Pressure and Academic

Performance                                                                                     28

Influence of negative peer pressure on students in

Public schools                                                                         31

Review of Empirical Studies

Peer Pressure faced among Public Secondary School

Students                                                                                  37

The effect of peer pressure on student’s motivation and

Engagement at school                                                            40

Summary of the review of related Literature                      41

Gap-in-literature                                                                            43

CHAPTER THREE: METHOD                                                   45

Design of the Study                                                               45

Area of the Study                                                                  46

Population of the Study                                                         46

Sample and Sampling Technique                                           46

Instrument for Data Collection                                                        47

Validation of the Instrument                                                  47

Method of Data Collection                                                          48

Method of Data Analysis                                                                48

CHAPTER FOUR: PRESENTATION AND ANALYSIS OF DATA   50     

Presentation and Analysis of Data                                               50

Research Question 1                                                                     51

Research Question 2                                                                     52

Research Question 3                                                                      53

Research Question 4                                                                            54

Summary of Findings                                                                    55

CHAPTER FIVE: DISCUSSION OF RESULTS, CONCLUSION AND RECOMMEDATION                                                57

Discussion of Results                                                                    57

Conclusion                                                                                    60

Implications of the Study                                                                        61

Recommendations                                                                                   61

Limitations of the Study                                                                         63

Suggestions for Further Research                                                  63

REFERENCES                                                                            64

APPENDIX1                                                                                69

List of Tables

List of Appendices

AN OVERVIEW OF THE INFLUENCE OF PEER PRESSURE ON ACADEMIC PERFORMANCE OF STUDENTS IN PUBLIC SECONDARY SCHOOLS IN AWKA SOUTH LOCAL GOVERNMENT AREA ANAMBRA STATE

CHAPTER ONE

• INTRODUCTION
  • Background of the Study

Educational activities are geared towards ensuring that students achieve mastery of educational objectives. In school, the extent to which these objectives are achieved is determined by the level of peer pressure, in student’s academic performance. Peers play a large role in the social and emotional development of adolescents Allen (2005). Their influence begins at an early age and increases through the teenage years, it is natural, healthy and important for adolescent to have and rely on friends as they grow and mature. A peer could be any one you look up to in behaviour or someone who you would think is equal to your age or ability (Hardcastle, 2002). On the other hand, the term “pressure” implies the process that influence people to do something that they might not otherwise choose to do.

According to Hartney, (2011) peer pressure refers to the influences that
peers can have on each other. Peer pressure is emotional or mental forces from people belonging to the same social group (such as age, grade or status) to act or behave in a manner similar to themselves (Weinfied 2010). Jones (2010) defined peer pressure as the ability of people from the same social rank or age to influence another of same age bracket. Peer pressure is usually associated with teens although its influence is not confined to teenagers alone. Adults, teens, and children can be seen doing things in order to be accepted by their peers. Peer pressure is commonly associated with episodes of adolescent risk taking (such as delinquency, drug abuse, immoral sexual behaviours), because these behaviours commonly occur in the company of peers. It can also have positive effects when youths are pressured by their peers toward positive behavior, such as volunteering for charity or excelling in academics (Kellie, 2013).

However, peers can also have a negative influence. They can encourage each
other to skip classes, steal, cheat, use of drugs or alcohol, or become involved in other risky behaviours. Majority of adolescents with substance abuse problems began using drug or alcohol as a result of peer pressure. Negative peer pressure may influence in various ways like joining group who drink alcohol, smoke cigarette and Indian hemp among others. It may also lead to the decision to have a boy friend/girl friend, Peer pressure indulges youth into loitering about in the streets, watching films and attending parties during school hours, taping as alternative to stealing which may eventually graduate into armed robbery. (Arief, 2011),

Peer pressure may be present in the workplace, at school or within the society; it can affect people of all ages. It may affect people in different ways but here, the focus is on peer pressure as it influences academic performance of in school adolescents. Peer pressure may have a positive influence and help to challenge or motivate one to do best. Peer pressure may also result in one doing things that may not fit with ones sense of what is right or wrong. In other words, when peer pressure makes one do things that people frown at, it is a negative peer pressure. Peer pressure is a force exert by people that is influenced by ideas, values and behaviour either positively or negatively and always associated with students. Study shown that many popular students who do not manage their time well make lower grades than less socially accepted adolescent (Hartney, 1990). This is possibly due to the fact that popular students may spend more time worrying about their social life rather than studying.

Academic performance refers to how well a student is accomplishing his or her tasks and studies (Scortt’s, 2012). Grades are certainly the most well-known indicator of academic performance. Grades are the student’s “score” for their classes and overall performance. Grades are most often a tallying or average of assignment and test scores and may often be affected by factors such as attendance, an instructor opinion of the student as well. Grading systems vary greatly by country and school; common scales include a percentage form 1-100, lettering systems from A-F, and grade point averages (GPA) from 0-4.0 or above.

According to Ward, Stocker and Murray-Ward (2006) academic performance refers to the outcome of education; the extent to which the student, teacher or institution have achieved their educational goals. Academic performance is the ability to study and remember facts and being able to communicate one’s knowledge verbally or written on paper (Answers, 2010). In the context of this study, academic achievement refers to the extent to which students have achieve mastery of the objectives of the subjects they are exposed to in school. According to (Aremu and Sokan 2003) academic achievement has been observed in school subjects especially mathematic and English language among secondary school students.

The trend of poor achievement of secondary school students has also been
confirmed by the West African Examination Council (WAEC). The WAEC result analysis for the years 2007, 2008, 2009, 2010 and 2011 revealed the following statistics of the performance of Nigerian student in secondary schools in public examination. The percentages of Nigerian students who passed during the years were reported to be 22, 54, 13.76, 22.54, 24.94, and 25.99 percent respectively. That is, on the average, less than a quarter (21.94 percent) of the students that sat for the May/June West African Senior Secondary School Certificate Examinations obtained credits in five subjects including English and mathematics during the five years (WAEC, 2007-2011). According to the West African Examination Council, it was revealed that the statistics of the 2012/2013 WAEC. A total of 324, 998 candidates registered for the Examination 168,835 are Males: while 141,242 are Females: candidates who registered for the WAEC examination. Withheld results, the results of 51,876 candidates, representing 16. 73% of candidates are being withheld by the WAEC Board, based on various reports, mostly for these candidates alleged involvement in examination malpractice, while another Statistics shows that a whooping number of 250,487 candidates representing 80. 78% have 2 credits and above, while 217,161 candidates, representing 70. 03 of the total 2012 WAEC candidates, have three credits and above. Several factors have generally been identified as causes of poor academic performance.

Morakinyo (2003) believes that the falling level of academic performance is attributable to the following factors; negative peer pressure, teachers’ non-use of verbal reinforcement strategy. Welsh (2007) also found that the attitude of some teachers to their job, poor teaching methods and the like influence students’ academic performance.

The blame for poor academic performance among secondary school students
could be attributable to a variety of factors such as student inability to manage their time, peers influence, family factors and the likes. Parents, teachers, curriculum experts and evaluators have expressed considerable concern over the deteriorating students’ performance in public examinations. Therefore, in-school students should avoid negative pressure such loitering along the street during school hours holding parties at the expense of their study, skipping school and drug abuse. That will create room for poor academic performance. The students should move with people that study their books in order to have good academic performance. It is against this background that the researcher decided to study the influence of peer pressure on academic performance of students in public secondary schools in Awka South local Government Area of Anambra State.

• Statement of the Problem

Reports have shown that there has been a downward trend in academic performance of students in Nigerian secondary school in general and Awka South Local Government Area in Anambra state. Experts have also expressed considerable concern about this poor performance in external examination such as West African Examination Council. So also are teachers and school counselor.

One of the major reasons of the poor performance of students in public secondary schools in Awka South Local Government Area can be attributed to the influence of negative peer pressure. Negative peer pressure is one of the many factors responsible 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 their academic pursuit. These unhealthy behaviours of which in turn impacts poorly on the academic performance of the students, makes the researcher to ask “why students of Awka South Local Government Area are not very concern about the current trend on their academic performance in examination? Could it be that they are insensitive to the possible negative influence of peer pressure on their academic performance.

Also the peer group a student belong to affects his or her motivation and involvement with school work, If a student is friends to secondary school dropouts, they have tendency to be absent from school, have lower grades and less positive attitudes towards school related activities , and less likely to plan to attend higher institutions. If dropout maintains contact with friends who have stayed in schools, however, these friends may provide moral support for returning to school. It is in view of these concerns that this study was carried out to determine the relationship among peer pressure and students academic performance.

• Significance of the Study

The problem of peer pressure on student’s academic performance has assumed a serious problem and this threatens the very existence and reputation of public schools in Awka South Local Government Area. Practically, this study will contribute immensely to the counselor of public schools in Awka South Local Government Area; it will help them to create and enforce discipline in the life of students of public schools in Awka south local Government Area. 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 counselor to know the right technique to adopt in modifying negative peer pressure. The teacher will equally benefit from the finding of the study because the finding will help them know what is expected of them as role models.

Public schools in Awka South Local Government Area will also benefit immensely from a study of this nature; it 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 findings of this study will help the school produce students who can contribute meaningfully towards the development of the nation in future.

Theoretically, the outcome of this study will contribute immensely to the already existing body of knowledge in the field; 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.

• Purpose of the Study

The main purpose of this study is to find out the influence of peer pressure on the academic performance of students in public secondary schools in Awka South Local Government Area. Specifically, the study intends to:

1. Determine the relationship between peer pressure and academic performance of students.
2. Find out the influence of negative peer pressure on students in public schools.
3. Find out the level of peer pressure faced among public secondary school students.
4. Find out how peer pressure affects student’s motivation and engagement at school.

• Scope of the Study

The study is delimited to public secondary schools students in Awka South Local Government Area in Anambra State. The study will be restricted to SS3 students, both male and female senior secondary school students. They were chosen because it is expected that they have spent five years in the school and they have acquired the experience of both positive and negative peer pressure, and how it can affect their performance. Academic performance is delimited to the students’ cumulative average score of school subjects in a session.

• Research Questions

The following research question will guide the study.

1. What is the relationship between peer pressure and academic performance of public secondary school students in Awka South Local Government Area?
2. How does negative peer pressure influence students academic performance in public secondary school?
3. What is the level of peer pressure among public secondary school students in Awka South Local Government Area?
4. How does peer pressure affects student’s motivation and engagement at school?

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