Education Project Topics

Peer Group Influence on the Adolescent and Their Performance in Schools in Nigeria

Peer Group Influence on the Adolescent and Their Performance in Schools in Nigeria

Peer Group Influence on the Adolescent and Their Performance in Schools in Nigeria

CHAPTER ONE

Purpose of the Study

The main purpose of the study is to determine the relationship among peer pressure, time management and academic performance of in-school adolescents in Umuahia Education Zone, Abia State. Specifically, the study intends to:

  • Find out the level of peer pressure among in-school adolescents.
  • Find out the level of time management among in-school adolescents.
  • Determine the relationship between peer pressure and academic performance of in-school adolescents.
  • Determine the relationship between time management and academic performance of in-school adolescents.
  • Determine the relationship among peer pressure, time management and academic performance of in-school adolescents.

CHAPTER TWO

REVIEW OF LITERATURE

This chapter presents the review of related literature to the study under the following sub-headings: Conceptual Framework, Theoretical Framework, Review of Empirical Studies, and Summary of Literature Review.

Conceptual Framework

  • Concept of Peer
  • Concept of Gender
  • Concept of Peer Pressure
  • Concept of Time Management
  • Concept of Adolescence
  • Academic Performance

Theoretical Framework

  • Bandura’s Social Learning Theory
  • Hirchi’s Social Control Theory
  • Wright’s Pickle Jar Theory

Review of Empirical Studies

  • Peer Pressure
  • Time Management
  • Adolescents and academic performance

Summary of Literature Review

Concept of Peer

According to Salvador (2009) a peer is a person who is equal to another in ability, qualification, age, background and social status. Peer is a person who belongs to the same age group or social group.

Concept of Gender

Gender according to Pollard and Morgan (2002) refers to the socially constructed expectation for male and female behaviour which prescribes a division of labour and responsibilities between males and females granting of different rights and obligation to them. Gender also describes social and historical constructs for masculine and feminine roles, behaviours, attributes and ideologies, which connote some notion of biological sex (Azikiwe, 2001).

Concept of Peer Pressure

Peer pressure is influence that a peer group, observers or individuals exert to encourage others to change their attitudes, values or behaviours and conform to the group norms. Peer pressure is the influence of a social group on an individual. Bobbies and Elhaney, (2005) indicate that peer pressure refers to the way the people of the same social group act or believe in order to influence one another, often in negative ways.

Peer pressure is something everybody has to deal with at sometime in ones life. How successful one handles peer pressure depends to a great on the individual’s self concept and position in the world (Hardcastle, 2002). Peer pressure is defined as when people of one’s age encourages or urges him to do something or to keep off from doing something else, irrespective of the person’s desire to or not to (Ryan, 2000 in Uche, 2010).

 

CHAPTER THREE

RESEARCH METHOD

This chapter describes the procedure that will be employed in the conduct of the study which includes: Design of the study, Area of the Study, Population of the Study, Sample and Sampling Technique, Instruments for Data Collection, Validation of the Instrument, Reliability of the Instrument, Method of Data Collection and Method of Data Analysis.

Design of the Study

The design was a correlational survey. Nworgu (2006) defined correlatonal survey as a type of study that seeks to establish what relationship exists between two or more variables. Usually such studies indicate the direction and magnitude of the relationship between the variables. This study established the relationship among variables of peer pressure, time management and academic performance of the in-school adolescents in Umuahia Education Zone, Abia State.

Area of the Study

The area of the study is Umuahia Education Zone in Abia State. Abia State is located in the South East Geopolitical Zone of Nigeria. Umuahia Education Zone is made up of four local government areas namely: Umuahia North, Umuahia South, Umunneochi and Ikwuano. There are 25 secondary schools in Umuahia Education Zone. This area was chosen because of personal observations and work field experience as a prison officer that many adolescents are languishing in prisons as a result of negative peer pressure influence and poor time management. The observation also shown that many of the adolescents roam the streets during school hours instead of being in their various class.

CHAPTER FOUR

RESULTS

This chapter deals with the presentation of results according to research questions and research hypotheses that guided the study.

Research Question 1

What is the level of peer pressure among in-school adolescents?

Results on table 1 are the means and standard deviations of the level of peer pressure among in-school adolescents in Umuahia Education Zone. Results showed that students have low level of peer pressure among in-school adolescents.

CHAPTER FIVE

DISUCSSION, CONCLUSIONS, IMPLICATIONS,

RECOMMENDATIONS AND SUMMARY

In this chapter, the results of the study are discussed based on the data analysis made in chapter four, interpreted and inference drawn from them. Recommendations for implication and further studies are made.

Discussion of the Findings

Levels of Peer Pressure among In-school Adolescent

The researcher found that there exists low level of peer pressure among in-school adolescent. Data from table 1 shown that a higher percentage of in-school adolescents experienced a low level of peer pressure. The experience of low level peer pressure among in-school adolescents could mean that peer group exercised positive influence on their members in this regard. This implies that peer pressure could influence in-school adolescents to engage in group discussion, going to library to read, that will enhance their academic performance. This supports the view of Black (2002) that, peer pressure may be a positive influence and could help to motivate them to do their best. With the attainment such high percentage of level of peer pressure, it implies that peer pressure has a positive influence on school adolescents, behaviour.

Level of Time Management among In-school Adolescent

The researcher found out that there exist a low level of time management among in-school adolescents. From the data it shown that in-school in Umuahia Education Zone do not manage their time irrespective of the fact that there is low peer pressure influence among them. The explanation for this is that peer pressure may not be a factor of in-school adolescent’s inability to manage their time but other factors such as breakdown in family system, watching of films, holding parties could be accountable for poor time management. The researcher is of the opinion that lack of parental supervision could lead to poor time management when in-school adolescents are without their parents’ guidance, they may spend their time in playing computer games, and gambling. Despites that they experienced low peer pressure, the tendency of managing time will not be there.

Conclusions of the Study

In light of the findings obtained in this study, the following conclusions are made.

  1. The finding implies that as in-school adolescents experience peer pressure, the ability of them performing well academically may not be there.
  2. This shows that negative peer pressure can bring about poor academic performance.
  3. The medium positive relationship between time management and academic performance implies that proper management of time enhances a better academic performance while the reverse is the case.

Educational Implications of the Study

This study has a number of implications:

The result of this study has some obvious implications to teachers, guidance counselor, the society and the students. The findings have revealed that their exist a low level of peer pressure among in-school adolescents in Umuahia Education Zone means that the relationship exist is the one that makes them to know why they are in school and also disassociate themselves from bad friends because evil communication corrupts good manners.

The findings that there is a low level of time management among in-school adolescents. This means that the in-school adolescents do not manage their time will in terms of supervision by their parents at home. Hence parent should monitor.

Based  on  the  finding  of  this  study,  the  following  recommendations  are

  • Trained counselor should be posted to all the secondary schools so as to help counsel few adolescents with negative influences.
  • Parents should have effective supervision and should not allow other home environmental factor to distract their children. There is a need for teacher to have greater supervision and regulations on in-school adolescents to enhance effectiveness of their time management.

Limitation of the Study

The obvious limitation of the study includes the following:

  • The possibility that some of the respondents may not be honest with their responses may affect the result. However, the number of the responses was good enough for meaningful generalization of the result.
  • The area covered may not have been large enough but due to constraints of finance and time much area was not covered.

Inspite of these limitation however, the purpose of the study has been achieved.

Suggestion for Further Studies

Based on the limitation of this study the following suggestions are for further studies.

  • Further study could be carried out using larger population.
  • The effect of parental training in the behaviour of the in-school adolescents.

Summary of the Study

Thestudy was on the relationship among peer pressure, time management and academic performance of in-school adolescents in Umuahia Education Zone, Abia State Nigeria.

The researcher discovered that in-school adolescent are found loitering about when lesson is going and watching film at video centre. It is this act that necessitated the present study in investigating relationship among peer pressure, tie management and academic performance of in-school adolescents in Umuahia Education Zone, Abia State, Nigeria.

The purpose of the study generally was to investigate the relationship among peer pressure, time management and academic performance of in-school adolescents in Umuahia Education Zone. The main purpose of the study was to:

  • Find out the levels of the peer pressure among in-school adolescent.
  • Find out the level of time management among in-school adolescents.
  • Determine the relationship between peer pressure and academic performance of in-school adolescents.
  • Determine the relationship between time management and academic performance of in-school adolescent.
  • Determine the relationship among peer pressure, time management and academic performance of in-school adolescents with regards to gender.

REFERENCES

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  • Arief, G.I & Martin, A.J. (2011). Peer relationship and adolescents’ academic and non-academic outcomes: some-sex and opposite-sex and opposite-sex peer effect and the role of school engagement. British Journal of EducationalPsychology 81, 183-206.
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