Abstract

This study sought to investigate the influence of Peer groups on Student Academic Performance in Secondary School in the Buea Municipality. The historical, conceptual, theoretical and empirical frameworks led to the explicit statement of the identified problem. Research questions were constructed through which both structure items were deduced to make up the questionnaire.

This study revealed that peer groups influence students academic performance in Secondary Schools. However, to a better extent, peer groups influence students academic performance positively than negatively.

The Research limited her study to two secondary schools within the Buea Municipality. These Schools are Summerset Bilingual College Molyko Buea and Government High School Bokova-Rural.

The Researcher recommended that parents, teachers should caution their children on the type of friends they make, their peers should be of good influence and not a bad influence, especially on academic work. The government should provide school counsellors to advise the students in school on the type of friends they keep.

CHAPTER ONE

INTRODUCTION

Background to the study

A peer group is both a social group and a primary group of people and peer refers to people who are equal in age, social class or education which is the main focus of this study. When children live home for school, they meet new friends from different homes, communities with different behaviours, ways of thinking and also manners of behaviour. So, with this, a student will turn to attach his or herself to a peer who may influence his or her behaviour either positively or negatively.

When students interact, they learn more about each other be it academically or non-academically. Your peer may influence your behaviour positively which will bring about good behaviour hence good performance. Some peers turn to do things out of school like indulging in drugs, smoking, undergo drinking, sexual promiscuity and this may result to teenage pregnancy.

This is girls will lead to school drop out especially. But important items about peer group is that it serves as a source of information to students, it teacher gender roles, it serves as a practising venue to adulthood, it teaches unity and collective behaviour and also identifies formation and this will be explained in the following chapter.

Peer groups tend to dramatic changes, adolescents tend to spend more time with their peers and less adult supervision. However, this study sets out to find out the different type of peer group that are common among students and to find out if this group have more of a positive than a negative effect on students academic performance in secondary schools in the Buea municipality.

Statement of the problem

Peer group influence could be positive and or negative. The nature and extent to which peer group in any activity or academic work. This study, therefore, sets out to investigate the extent to which peer groups influence students academic performance in secondary schools in the Buea municipality.

It was observed that the success or failure of students is either directly or indirectly influenced by their peers or community at large. And the type of peer groups that are common among students may influence their academic performance activities like drugs, underage drinking, sexual promiscuity and how it will affect academic work. So this study sets to investigate the extent to which this affects students academic performance.

Objectives of the study

The main objective of this study is to identify the different types of peer groups that are common among students. And to examine if peer groups have more of a positive than a negative influence on students academic performance.

Specifically, it has the following objectives:

1. To find out if these groups affect students academic performance positively or negatively.
2. If yes, what are these effects?
3. To investigate the extent to which activities like group studying, unity and collective behaviour, identify formation and also activities like sexual promiscuity, undergo drinking, smoking and clubbing affect students academic performance.

Research questions

The following research questions were formulated;

1. Do you spend time on academic work like reading, discussing and doing assignments together with your peer?
2. Does your peer group have more of a positive than negative effect on students academic performance?
3. Do you spend time on social activities like partying together, underage drinking and smoking with peers?
4. Does peer groups affect student academic performance positively?

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PEER TEACHING AND ITS INFLUENCE ON STUDENTS’ ACADEMIC PERFORMANCE IN SECONDARY SCHOOLS WITHIN THE BUEA MUNICIPALITY