PEER GROUP INFLUENCE ON THE ADOLESCENT AND THEIR PERFORMANCE IN SCHOOLS IN EGOR LOCAL
GOVERNMENT AREA OF EDO STATE
CHAPTER ONE
INTRODUCTION
BACKGROUND OF STUDY
The educational foundation of a child starts right from the home. It starts with informal education which being with the parents when the child is of age he will be sent to school for final education. At school the child is exposes to so mine people like the teacher, classmates and health of school. All these people associated with the education of the child certainly influence the students greatly. The academic performance of the child are greatly influence by the students who are mostly his classmates and peer group because he spend most of his time with them. The peer group is therefore the first social group outside the home in which the child attempt to gain acceptance. Each peer group has its code of conduct which does not always confirm with advance standard. The peer group becomes an agency of enculturation and learning. Even very young children develop a sense of self from their perception of important people in their surroundings including relatives, teachers and peer socio-economics status, ethnicity and parents occupation affects how families
view themselves and the process by which they socialize their children (Bornstein, 2002). Later as children leave their home setting their self perception and socializing skills become influenced by how their peers view them. When children move out from family to child care centers, school and the community at large they begin to form attachments and friendships emerge through their play. These relationship influence behaviours. Even infants and toddlers are observed reacting to other infants by touching them, by crying when others cry and later by offering nurturance or comfort. At about age three, early friendship begins to have a more lasting influence (Parke, 1990) peer influence on behaviour gradually becomes more dominant.