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Peer Pressure Affects Academic Performance of Second Year Students

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Peer Pressure Affects Academic Performance of Second Year Students
Title:
Peer Pressure Affects Academic Performance of Second Year Students

Dependent Variable:
Academic performance of second year students

Independent Variable:
Peer Pressure

Objective:
To know how academic performance among second year high school students is being affected by peer pressure.

Introduction:
To be successful in life, one must begin by being successful in school. In high school, we were all told to work hard so that we could get good grades and scores that would get us into a good college, eventually getting us a good career. And that was success.
School and school-related activities, over a period of time, are essential in an adolescent’s life. These comprise one-third or half of a typical adolescent’s day. Hence, any interaction done in school – with administrators, faculty, students, and classmates – can have an indirect effect in academic performance.
The most common known factor that affects a high schooler’s academic performance is that of peer pressure.
This research focuses on the second year students as its subject. I, being a second year student, can relate well to them.
It is a wonder why we have difficulty in memorizing our lines for a dialogue or play, experiencing so-called mental block during exams, stuttering during oral recitations, cramming for project and homework submissions.
But, we never fail to attend parties, hang out at a classmate’s house, mall strolling and playing computer games at an internet café. Failure to be part of any of these activities will make you an outcast. And being an outcast is a no-no for us second year students. It is important amongst us to be a part of a group and to feel that so-called ‘belongingness’. On the other hand, not joining will make a subject for bullying.
Hence, the time that is supposed to be used for studying and doing research work for projects and homework, is spent to be with our peers. And not concentrating on our studies affect our academic performance



References: Allen, J. P., Porter, M. R., McFarland, F. C., Marsh, P., & McElhaney, K. B. (2005). The two faces of adolescents’ success with peers: Adolescent popularity, social adaptation, and deviant behavior. Child Development, 76(3), 747-760. Reis, S. & McCoach, D.  (2000) The underachievement of gifted students: What do we know and where do we go? Gifted Child Quarterly, National Association for Gifted Children (NAGC), Vol. 44, No. 3, pp. 152-170  Boehnke, Klaus (2007) Peer pressure: a cause of scholastic underachievement? A cross-cultural study of mathematical achievement among German, Canadian, and Israeli middle school students. SOCIAL PSYCHOLOGY OF EDUCATION, Volume 11, Number 2, pp. 149-160. Howard, Nicole Marie (2004) PEER INFLUENCE IN RELATION TO ACADEMIC PERFORMANCE AND SOCIALIZATION AMONG ADOLESCENTS: A LITERATURE REVIEW. A Research Paper, The Graduate School, University of Wisconsin-Stout.

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