Influence of Peer Group Relationships in Academic Performance of Secondary School Students in District Rahim Yar Khan

Abstract

This research investigates the role of peer group relationship in determination of academic achievements of the students in secondary schools of Rahim Yar Khan. The aims are therefore not only to understand the relationship between peer influences on study behaviors and motivation, but also to evaluate the influence of peer relations on self-esteem and academic efficacy beliefs, as well as to explore the contribution of peer learning to effective learning achievements. Besides, the study aims at comparing effects of peer relationships on gender differences in the desired academic achievement and recommend how positive peer relationships can be promoted in a way that will lead to improvement of achievement. Participants were 230 teaching staffs and 380 students from different secondary schools in the district. The study shows that peer group relationships have a very bad effect on students’ performance. About 80 percent of the teachers expressed an opinion that these relationships can result in high or low achievement respectively, based on the type of relationships developing between a teacher and a learner. Also, 85% of stated students recognized the impact of peers on students’ academic performance, where they described different aspects of peers’ involvement. Based on the study’s findings, the researcher established that students’ peer relations could greatly help promote their academic achievement in secondary schools. They revisit the importance of intervention and approach directed towards strengthening peer relations in order to increase learning outcomes in Rahim Yar Khan. All these findings help to explain the pattern of peer influence in educational settings and stress the need for creating positive peer contexts in school.