Академический Документы
Профессиональный Документы
Культура Документы
To answer the question, to what extent do peer groups affect academic performance, in quantifiable terms is actually quite difficult. There are numerous variables to consider, however, here are a few statistics:
According to a study published by the Williams Project on the Study of Economics in Higher Education, stronger students do have an impact on their peers and actually help improve the overall academic performance of the peer group.
In a comparison of students surveyed, 34% of African American students said that their friends make fun of people who are smart or do well in school. However, by 8th grade only 23% agreed with that statement--regardless of ethnicity.
Another rather large study done by CREDE (the Center for Research in Education, Diversity and Excellence) suggests that peer groups are highly influential during early adolescence but that peers are less influential as kids get older.
Undoubtedly, experts agree that peer groups have an influence on academic performance. What experts do not agree on is to what extent and the variables within that influence.
Negative Influences
In some peer groups, being smart is looked down upon. Similarly, these groups tend to share low aspirations of going to college or getting certain careers. There may be other values in place, such as taking care of the family or making money sooner rather than going to college first. Ads by Google International High School Boarding schools in the UK and USA Helping your child succeed in life.www.ef.com/academy Academic Journals in U.S. Call for Papers Submit and Publish! Faster review and rapid publicationwww.iiste.org 2.1 speakers Find the best home sound Speakers in Malaysia's Business Directoryhomeliving.701pages.com In addition, studies suggest that peers influence each other more heavily in the early teen years. 14 year olds are more than twice as likely to engage in risky, self-destructive behavior than 18 year olds are. The theory is that by 18, a young man or woman is more autonomous and has clear aspirations of where he or she wants to go and how to get there. Consequently, if risky
behavior doesn't fit into the equation, an older teen is able to pass easily without feeling badly. However, the pressure to 'fit in' for someone entering high school is tremendous.
Positive Influences
Many peer groups can be a positive influence on their friends as well. It is thought that intelligent students help their peers bring up their grades. Likewise, girls with good friends who are considered intelligent tend to do better in school. There definitely seems to be a pattern in the influence of studious kids.With that said, another common theme is similar aspirations. Students that want to go to a four-year college tend to hang out with others with similar aspirations.
Parental Involvement
Across the board, when taken into account with other factors including ethnicity, socio-economic factors, and even education of parents--parental involvement is the single most influential factor in academic success. Teens who have parents who are involved in their lives and generally know what's going on at school are more likely to attend four-year colleges.
Education as a Value
Students who believed that education was a means to pursue something higher and/or believed that education was valuable tend to do better in school. One may well argue that this attitude again stems from parents, although teachers can play a significant role as well.