1

PEER GROUP INFLUENCE: EFFECTS ON THE ACADEMIC PERFORMANCE

OF BEED 1st and 2nd YEAR STUDENTS

A Thesis Proposal
Submitted in Partial Fulfillment
of the Requirements for the Degree
BACHELOR OF ELEMENTARY EDUCATION
Northern Samar Colleges
Catarman Northern Samar

2023
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Chapter 1
INTRODUCTION

Background of the Study

Peer group is a group of people of same age or

social status. 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 teenage life.

Socialization in our society is being a life

time process it cannot be limited to the family members

alone. As a teenager grows older and more matured$ it

become more necessary for the child to be involved in

higher 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

behavior of an individual is sharpened to get him/her

equipped for socialization. In the school system the

child gets into the social group of 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 is the

most important socializing agent for the developing

child. Peer group is important in social change. The

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child’s life is transformed from the helpless child into

a mature adult. 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. act of acceptance by the peer disturbs the

child especially at the teenage age. some children have

been known to do badly in school not because they

lack the academic ability to do it well but because they

are disturbed by the fact they are being influenced 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 to win his/her independence easily

from domination and set before him a goal which is more

easily attainable than the expectation of adults. This in

itself provides motivation for learning and is mainly

responsible for the fact that all children at one stage

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or the other regard their membership of peer group as

very important.    

        When the family is not supportive for instance,

if the parents work extra jobs and are largely

unavailable, their children may turn to their peer for

emotional support. This also occur when the 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.

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 behavior of the child. In

conclusion, therefore the influence of peer group on the

academic performance of secondary school students cannot

be over emphasized. The peer group forms the main basis

through which the child learns lot of empirical facts

about his physical and social environment, acquisition of

skills and value as well as attitude for a better future.

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Statement of the Problem

The fact the people that surrounds a person can

influence his or her values, way of thinking, and

behavior, is a serious matter that must be looked into.

The peer group of a student has the ability to direct or

redirect his or her behavior towards studies. The

influence of these group of people, may it be positive or

negative and the surrounding factors such as gender, age,

number of friends and social status, should be

investigated and correlated to how these affects the

students’ academic performance.

Objectives of the Study

The researchers will determine the peer group

influence and its effect in the academic performance of

the first-and second-year Bachelor of Elementary

Education year students. To attain this goal, the

following objectives will be considered:

1. Know demographic the profile of the respondents in

terms of:

a. gender,

b. age,

c. number of friends
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2. Determine the level peer group influence on academic

related activities of the respondents.

3. Determine the level of student academic performance

in their major subjects.

4. Determine the significant relationship between the

profile of the respondents and the level of peer

group influence of the respondents.

5. Determine the significant relationship between the

profile of the respondents and academic performance

of the respondents.

6. Determine the significant relationship between the

level peer group influence and its effect on the

academic performance of the students.

Hypothesis

This study assumes that Peer Group Influence has its

effects on the academic performance of the students and

that there is significant relationship between the two.

Peer group influence on the academic performance, may it

be positive or negative and to what extent, will be

determined at the end of this study.

Significance of the Study 

Students. This study would benefit the students by

enabling them to gain awareness about how their peer

could positively or negatively influence their academic

performance.
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Teachers. The findings of this study will enable

them to consider involving their students in a group

activities where academic collaboration takes place which

could positively help the students become academically

inclined while being in a good social academic group.

School. This study will help them develop programs

and ideas on the importance and how peer group

relationship may be handled.

Parents. Through the findings of this study, parents

will gain understanding on how the peer group can impact

their children’s behavior and eventually help them guide

latter,

Future researchers. This will serve as their frame

of reference in conducting similar studies involving

other relevant variables.

Theoretical Framework
This study is will be anchored from the “Theory of

Adolescent Risk-Taking Behaviors” by Mascardo which

states that The Effects of Peer Pressure to the teenagers

give in to peer pressure because they want to be liked,

to fit in, or because they worry that other teens may

make fun of them if they do not go along with the group

others may go along because they are curious to try

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something new that others are doing. In this way, teens

are influenced in either good or bad effects.

This study is also anchored from the Theory of

“Psychosocial Development" by Erik Erikson’s this

identifies a series of eight stages of life, from infancy

to late adulthood. Each stage a person will experiences

psychosocial crisis wherein these experiences result to

negative or positive outcome for a person’s personality

development. The study will focus on the 5th stage of the

theory which is the Identity Vs. Role Confusion, this is

where a person sense of self and personal identity. A

person at this stage is at Adolescence period wherein the

person is having its own personal sense of beliefs,

values, and goals. During this point of life, a person

finds his identity thru his environment; a person

develops with the contribution of the people that

surrounds him family, friends, relatives, interest

groups, reference groups etc.1

This study is anchored on the “Theory of Social

Learning by Alegre (2017) stated in her research "The

Impact of peer pressure in Academic Performance".

According to him, peer groups influence social and

academic developments, and that these influences begin at

the very start of formal education influences and

1
Retrieved from
https://files.eric.ed.gov/fulltext/EJ1078777.pdf on November 2017
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motivations for all kinds of adolescents’ behavior,

including study habits and personal academic development,

come mostly from their peers to whom they come into close

contact.

The above-mentioned theories led the researchers to

investigate the relationship between of Peer influence

and effects on the academic performance to determine how

the former affects the latter through an investigation by

the use of survey questionnaires.

Conceptual Framework

This study was anchored from the theories of

Adolescent Risk-Taking Behavior, Psychosocial

Development, and Social Learning which explains how peer

group relates to learning process considering the stages

of life and the surrounding factors. Moreover, this study

will be conducted to determine the peer group influence

on academic performance and will be guided by the

assumption that there is a significant relationship

between the profile of the respondents in terms of

gender, age, number of friends, and peer group

influence, being the independent variables, and the level

of academic performance of the BEED first year and second

year students. The levels of these variables will be

measured through the use of the adapted instrument, and

at the end of the study and results will be interpreted

and analyzed to identify if peer group positively or

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negatively affects academic performance and eventually be

able to present possible recommendations to the affected

individuals or organization.

This concept is clearly shown in the schematic

diagram below.

Paradigm
Independent Variable Dependent
Variable

Profile of the
respondents in
terms of:
a. Gender
b. Age
c. Number of
friends
d. Monthly Effects on
family income
Academic

Performance

Level Peer

Group Influence

Figure1. Illustration of the relationship between the

profile of the respondents, Peer group influence, and its
effects on academic performance.

Scope and Limitation of the study

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This study is focus on the peer influence it effects

on the academic performance of BEED 1 st and 2nd year

students in Northern Samar Colleges who are currently

enrolled in the Academic Year 2022-2023.

This study will only be limited to the subjective

perceptions and experiences of the respondents regarding

the peer pressure effects. The surrounding factors and

circumstances which may affect the variable will only be

limited to gender, age, number of friends and monthly

family income. Other factors that have potentially to

affect the variables are not considered and is beyond of

the study. The measurement of the academic performance

shall be based only on the respondents average rating in

all of the subjects taken during the academic year which

there enrolled.

Definition of Terms
Peer Group:  a group of individuals or companies that

share similar characteristics with one another.

Peer Group Influence: when you choose to do something you

wouldn't otherwise do, because you want to feel accepted
and valued by your friend
Adolescent: a period when a young person develops from a 

child into an adult

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Socialization: the process of interaction in the society

and involvement that acquire the values has its and

attitudes of a society.

Social Influence: is the effect of others on a individual

or a group attitudes and behavior.

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Chapter 2

REVIEW OF RELATED LITERATURES

Peer Group

Academic activities are directed towards ensuring

that students gain mastery of educational objectives.

In schools, the extent to which these objectives have

been met is determined greatly by the interaction of

peer groups which could possibly reflect in student’s

academic performance. Peer group play a large role in

the social, emotional and academic development of

students.

Allenin Steinberg (2005) maintains that peer group

influence begins at an early age and increases through

the teenage years. Thus, understanding the prospects and

challenges of peer group is crucial for the productivity

of educational processes and the organizational

design of school systems in order to improve student’s

academic performance.(African Educational Research

Journal Vol.7(2), pp. 81-87, June 2019.

)H a m m e t a l . i n L a v y a n d S c h l o s s e r ( 2 0 0 7 ) ,

argued that, “for many students, friendships are

critical interpersonal vehicle that move them

towards psychological growth and maturity, allowing

social compassion which influences the development of

self-evaluation”. The above statement suggests

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strongly, the unprecedented effect of peer group in

almost all facet

2

of adolescent’s growth. Such effect could be seen in

social and emotional lives of young people, which does

not end at the above mentioned, but could also

manifest in their attitude towards

educational activities and careful

consideration of these elements has shown

that they reflect in the a c a d e m i c performance

of students.

However, Castro giovanni (2002) defined peer

group as a small group of similarage, fairly close

friends, sharing the same activities. In its most

acceptable form, peer group is a healthy coming-of age

intermediary, by which youth grasp negotiating skills

and learn to deal with challenges and to solve problems

in a social context. Peer group can also act as

positive role model, for example, if one is

i n v o l v e d w i t h a g r o u p o f people that are ambitious

and working hard to attain high academic goals, one

might feel pressured to follow suit to avoid feeling

excluded from the group.

According to Olalekan (2016), it is generally

observed that peer group has a lot of influence on

2
retrieved from www.univ.setifz.dz on February 27,2016
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students. This is seen from the role played by the peer

group in the life and learning of a child, evidence

abound that students feel more comfortable and

relaxed among fellow students. A child who is brilliant

and surrounded by dull friends would lose interest in

learning. On the other hand, a peer group which is prone

to study would have positive effect on a dull

member 3 er towards learning and stimulate his/her

interest on learning. Katz in Olalekan (2016) wrote

that the nature of a peer group determines the impact

on the motivation of and achievements of its member. He

further suggests that o n e g r o u p m a y h a v e a n e g a t i v e

impact on its members while the other may have

positive impact on its members as well.

Academic Performance

Academic performance refers to excellence in all

academic discipline. Most literature often refers

the shared institutional settings as ‘common shocks’. For

instance, all students in the same classroom doing well

academically may reflect nothing but the high quality of

the teacher. A shared characteristic is the other part of

correlated effects which arises when individuals tend to

self-select into a group with members sharing similar

3

https://oarep.usim.edu.my/jspui/bitstream/123456789/17960/4/32
01262%20Chapter%202.pdf
https://www.coursehero.com/file/89948444/Chapter-2docx/
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behavior. For example, families that are very supportive

of children’s education are more likely to sort

themselves across schools in order to seek for better

peers. Accordingly, research work on peer influence

usually models the behavior (outcomes) of an individual

(Manski, 2000). Another study was conducted by Lavy and

Schlosser (2007) who examined classroom level peer

influence, and find that a greater percentage of female

classmates improve both boys and girls academic

performance. The study predetermined peer

characteristics, such as peer race and gender. Peer

influence may be present in the Filade et al. 83

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 the activities of peer

group as it influences academic performance of

undergraduate students. Peer group may have a positive

influence and help to challenge or motivate one to do

best. Peer group influence 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 group makes one do

things that people frown at, it is a negative peer

influence. Operationally peer group influence is a force

exert by people that is pressured by ideas, values and

behavior either positively or negatively and always

associated with adolescents. Studies have shown that

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students who do not manage their activities with peer

group make lower grades than less socially accepted

adolescent (Hartney, in Manski, 1993). The researcher

deem it necessary to look at an area that scholars do no

often consider in their study of peer group influence,

and that is parents influence on pupils peer group

relationship.

Chapter III
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METHODOLOGY
Locale of the Study

This study will be conducted in Northern Samar

Colleges. It is a private, non-sectarian school in the

municipality of Catarman and formerly known as Northern

Samar Academy. It was established in 1949 to meet the

educational demands of the town.

The school offers courses such as Bachelor in

Elementary Education (BEED), Bachelor of Secondary

Education (BSED), Bachelor of Science in Industrial

Technology (BSIT), Bachelor of Science in Hospitality

Management (BSHM), and Bachelor of Science in Office

Administration (BSOA).4

Research Design

This research investigation is a quantitative study.

It aims to investigate if peer group influence affects

the academic performance of the BEED 1 st and 2nd year

students.

This study will use descriptive-correlational

research design. Descriptive research will be used to

gather the data on the levels of peer group influence and

student performance Meanwhile, the correlational research

design will be used to describe the significant

4
Retrieved from “https://www.edukasyon.ph/schools/northern-
samar-colleges” on March 4, 2023
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relationship between the profile and the level of peer

group influence; profile and the level of academic

performance; and level peer group influence and its

effect on the academic performance of the students.

The principle of applying this method is to

determine if there is a strong relationship of peer group

influence to the academic performance of the BEED 1st and

2nd year students.

Research Respondents

The respondents of this study will be the 156 BEED

1st and 2nd year students are officially enrolled in

Northern Samar Colleges School, academic year 2022-2023.

Complete enumeration will be employed and thus, no

sampling will be employed.

Data Gathering Procedure

The needed data in this study will be gathered as

follows: The researchers will send a letter to the thesis

instructor and to the chairman of the College of

Education in Northern Samar Colleges to ask permission

for the conduct of the study to all of the 156 first year

and second year Bachelor of Elementary Education (BEED)

students who are enrolled in the academic year 2022-2023.

Upon the approval, the researchers will check the subject

schedule of the respondents to see vacant hours where the

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actual distribution of questionnaires will be done. This

will be personally done by the researchers to ensure the

reliability of data. The researchers will explain how the

questionnaires will be answered and will give assurance

that responses will be treated with utmost

confidentiality to ensure that respondents will answer as

honest as they can which is crucial in arriving to an

accurate result. After the questionnaires have been

answered by the them, it will be retrieved by the

researchers and will be tallied, analyzed, outliers will

be identified and removed as this can distort the study,

and appropriate statistical tools will be used to

interpret the responses. The summary, conclusions, and

implications can be drawn based on the results and

findings of the based.

Research Instrument

The questionnaire is composed of three parts: the first

part includes the students’ information summary which is
the profile of each respondent which includes the gender,
age, number of friends, and monthly family income. The
second part contains the Likert scale checklist with 5-
point scale where the respondents will put their check
marks based on their response the level of peer pressure
it is composed of three subparts namely: Part IIa. Peer
Group Influence on Academic Performance, Part IIb.
Economic Status’ effects on peer influence and academic
performance, and PartIIc. Parents’ interest in knowing
the peer group association. It is adapted from the study
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of Olalekan entitled “Influence of Peer Group

Relationship on the Academic Performance of Students in
Secondary Schools (A Case Study of Selected Secondary
Schools in Atiba Local Government Area of Oyo State) “

Meanwhile, to gather the data and measure the level

of academic performance, the researchers will gather the

average grade, or weighted average, of the respondents in

all of the subjects taken during the academic year 2022-

2023. A recommending letter signed by the research

professor will be given. To ensure the confidentiality of

grades, that researchers will be asking the only grades

and not the name of the student where a specific grade

corresponds. Then, grades will be tallied and weighted

mean will be computed, and will be interpreted using the

grading system that the Northern Samar Colleges uses.

Sampling Technique

Complete enumeration of the respondents will use in

this study which means that all 156 BEED 1st year and 2nd

year students of the Northern Samar Colleges will be

involved in this study and no sampling was employed.

Research Variables and Measurement

The variables of this study are the profile of the

respondents in terms of gender, age, number of friends,

and monthly family income, level of peer group influence,

and the level of academic performance.

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Scoring and Interpretation

In terms of peer group influence gathering the

highest and lowest frequency will be the used as basis

for interpretations and conclusions.

The following interpretations will be used to

interpret the data the Peer group influence its effects

on the academic performance of the respondents.

Table 1
Scoring and interpretations on the Peer Group
Influence

Scale Adjectival Rating Interpretation

4.20-5.00 Always Very High

3.40-4.19 Often High

2.60-3.39 Sometimes Average

1.80-2.59 Seldom Poor

1.00-1.79 Never Very Poor

On the other hand, the following grading system,

based on the Northern Samar Colleges adapted system of

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grading, will be used to evaluate the data on the level

of student performance:

Table 2
Scoring and interpretations on the Level Student
Performance
Grade Description

1.00 98-100 Excellent

1.25 95-97
Superior
1.50 92-94

1.75 89-91
Very Satisfactory
2.00 86-88

2.25 83-85
Satisfactory
2.50 80-82

2.75 77-79 Fairly

Satisfactory

3.00 75-76 Passed

5.00 <75 Failed

INC Incomplete

Statistical Treatment

The following statistical tools will be employed in

this study:
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Frequency counts and Percentages. This will be used

to interpret the data on the profile of the respondents

in terms of gender, Age, Number of friends and Academic

average

Response Rate. This will be used to determine the

number of responses relative to the total population.

This will ensure that the data that will be used for

analysis is statistically sufficient. Its formula is as

follows:

number of completed survey responses

Response Rate = x 100
Total number of survey respondents

To determine the level of Peer influence on the Academic

and fon Academic Performance of the BEED 1st and 2nd year

students Average weighted mean will be used with the

following formula.

Weighted Mean. This will be used to interpret the

data on the Peer group Influence its effect on academic

performance. This will determine which specific factor

affects each variable. The formula is as follows:

∑ FX
x=
N

Where:

x – weighted mean
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F – Frequency

X – Weight of each item

N – Number of cases

Spearman’s Rank Correlation Coefficient. This will

be used to determine the significant relationship between

academic dishonesty and student performance. This study

assumes that the latter variable is monotonically related

to the former and ordinal data will be involved as such

are requirements for Spearman correlation. Its formula

is:

6 ∑d 2i
ρ=1−
n(n2 −1)

where:

ρ = Spearman’s rank correlation coefficient

di = difference between the two ranks of each

observation

n❑= number of observations

The questionnaire includes

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APPENDIX
A QUESTIONNAIRE
SURVEY QUESTIONNAIRE FOR THE PEER GROUP INFLUENCE OF THE
FIRST- AND SECOND-YEAR BACHELOR OF ELEMENTARY EDUCATION
STUDENTS OF THE NORTHERN SAMAR COLLEGES

Part I. Profile of the Respondents

Name:

____________________________________________Optional)

Gender: ____ Age: _____ Number of Friends: _______

Monthly Family Income: _______________

Part II. Indicators that the level of Peer Group

Influence of the respondents. (Put a check (/) mark on

columns that corresponds to your answer. Answer the

following statements based on your major subjects

A-Always Se-Seldom

O-Often N-Never

So-Sometimes

Part IIa. Peer Group Influence on Academic Performance

STATEMENTS A O So Se N

1 I prefer to study with my friends

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2 I discuss my learning problems with

friends

3 The group work helped to boost my grades

4 I love to make friends with intelligent

students alone

5 My friends’ assistance in group

discussion assisted to improve my grades

6 The upper grade of my friends encourages

me to work harder

Part IIb. Economic Status’ effects on peer influence and

academic performance

STATEMENTS A O So Se N

1 My friend’s parents are educated

2 I hate to make friend with students from

poor family

3 I like to associate with friends from

rich family

4 I borrow textbooks from my rich friends

5 I have every necessary textbook

6 My intelligent friends are from rich

homes

PartIIc. Parents’ interest in knowing the peer group

association
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STATEMENTS A O So Se N

1 My parents know many of my friends

2 My parents do not like my movement

with friends

3 My parents love me to have many

friends

4 My parents encourages me to move

around with students who are

intelligent

5 My parents encourage me to study

with friends

6 My parents teach me how to relate

with friends