How Does Peer Influence Academic Performance

The core objective of this study is the investigation into the association between peer influence and academic performance. There have been studies on the various means through which peer groups can influence students’ academic performance. There is every tendency that the kinds of friends adolescents keep in school shaped their appreciation for their academic and academic achievement. According to Ryan (2000), the peer groups are influential regarding changes in students’ intrinsic value for school (i.e. liking and enjoying) as well as achievement (i.e. report card grades). The peer group is not, however, influential regarding changes in students’ utility value for school (i.e. importance and usefulness). It was found that associating with friends who have a positive affect toward school enhanced students’ own satisfaction with school, whereas

The expectation was that the achievement gap would widen and not collapse as a result of the peer effect between the fourth and eighth grades. Korir & Kipkemboi (2014) attempted two explanations for this finding. There are two possible explanations for the diminishing peer effects. First, older students may mask their academic achievement from their friends. That is, peers do not necessarily know exactly what grades their friends achieve or how much time they spend on homework in any given week. Thus, individual students may be able to give their peers a false impression of their academic performance, especially as they reach adolescence. Although peer pressure could generally increase, students may be able to avoid academic pressure more easily. Second, adolescent peer pressure may focus on extracurricular behaviour rather than on classroom behaviour. In other words, as children test their independence, they may focus negative peer pressure on antisocial behaviour outside of school rather than on academic