The Influence Of Peer Pressure In School

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Introduction
“South African schools are worst affected by violence” (Mahlobo, 2000, p.10). Mahlobo (as cited in Morrell, 1998) noted that the worst schools that are affected by violence are township schools. Schools must be a safe place for teaching and learning without fear and distractions, simply because learners or teachers will not be able to study or teach at a non-safety place. Will (2013) argues that maintenance of a safe and supportive learning environment is significant for learners to trust each other and their teacher. School violence is a barrier to effective learning and teaching. According to Xaba (2006) indicated that effective teaching and learning can take place only in a safe and protected school environment. Xaba (2006) …show more content…

Peer pressure, “refers to the influence that peers can have on each other” (http://addictions.about.com/od/howaddictionhappens/f/Peer_Pressure.htm). As we know that peer pressure is divided into two categories, positive and negative peer pressure, I will be focusing on negative peer pressure. At adolescent stage the peer pressure occupy a particularly central role in young people’s lives (Lingren, 19955, p.1). According to Mathews, Grigss and Caine (1999) the need for status and power among peer groups can be understood to be of the causes of violence amongst youth. For example, especially to male learners, it can be argued that they have to wear particular clothes or drink alcohol in order to be accepted in the peer groups. What about those learners who do not afford to buy expensive stuff? Then they start to be criminals by robbing their teachers since almost everybody know payment date for …show more content…

(Duma, 2013) emphasizes that this could also result on decreasing pass rate percentage of the learners also the school as a whole. Violence in schools could also result in the learner dropping out at school because of the bad behavior that learner could have at school and the bad record of not respecting the teachers. The teacher could also have fear of coming to school or even in class because of fear of the learners violating him/her; many learners may suffer because of this

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