Effects of Peer Pressure among VNHS Grade 12 STEM Students on their Academic

Performances

LEADER:
Abraham Nacu

MEMBERS:
Rafael Dominic Evite
Jake Fernandez
Kate Francisco
John Eric Gagante
Ma Cristina Gajusta
Aliyah Samantha Garcia
Joshua Gonzaga
Ma Angelica Gregorio
Divine Christine Hilario
Abcd Lacanilao
Lee Macaraeg
Joseph Marlo Muryong

Ma’am Bernadette Novilla

INTRODUCTION

Peer pressure is common among teenagers during their adolescence because they seek
comfort from their peers. They intend to do as their peers do, regardless of whether it is good or
bad for them. Adolescence is a period in a person's life when he or she is between the ages of 12
and 18. When a child transitions from childhood to adulthood, it is transitory (Adeniyi &
Kolawole, 2015). Hamm et al. in Lavy and Schlosser (2007), argued that, “for many students,
friendships are critical interpersonal vehicle that move them towards psychological growth and
maturity, allowing social compassion which influences the development of self-evaluation” the
preceding statement strongly implies that this is one-of-a-kind situations. In almost every aspect
of adolescent life, peer pressure has an impact growth. This type effect can be seen in social and
emotional situations young people's lives don’t stop there mentioned, but It can also be seen in
their demeanour in the direction of educational activities, as well as careful thought these
elements have demonstrated that they have an impact on the student’ academic achievement.
Peer pressure can only be found on a group of similar age, fairly close friends sharing the same
activities peer Castro Giovanni (2002) said pressure on a group is a healthy adolescent
intermediary through which negotiation skills are learned by youth, and they learn to deal with
conflict. In social context, challenges and problem solving are important peer pressure can also
serve as positive role models for young people for instance, if one is associated with a group of
people who are ambitious and dedicated to achieving academic excellence one might feel
compelled to follow suit to avoid being judged. Feeling cut off from the rest of the group. One of
the causes could be a peer pressure has a negative effect is militating forces that causes most
students to perform poorly in school the reason for this is not because of poor academic
performance. Improbable: they devote a significant amount of time to extracurricular activities,
curriculum. Academic priorities are more often than not, academic priorities are neglected and
thus academic performance grossly affected. Peer pressure is a contentious topic these days. It's
the sensation that someone your own age is pressuring you to make particular decisions, whether
good or harmful (The Cool Spot). Peer influence grows in importance as children grow older,
and it has become a significant impact on behavior during adolescence. There have been
numerous studies and surveys conducted to determine if peer pressure is good or harmful to
youngsters. While Karcher & Finn (2005) asserted that peer pressure is the most common cause
of adolescent misbehavior, Bukowski (1998) and Salvy (2011) noted that peer pressure can have
incredible benefits for them. When a group of peers influences and encourages an individual to
modify their actions or attitudes, this is known as peer pressure. Typically, the individual is
placed in an uncomfortable circumstance in which they feel compelled to do something or risk
not fitting in. Many people, particularly teens, are affected by peer pressure, which can lead to
drug use and underage drinking.

Academic activities are aimed at ensuring that student's understand and master
educational goals. The extent to which these goals are met in school, interacting with peer groups
has a significant influence on how well students perform academically. Student's' social,
emotional, and academic development are heavily influenced by their contemporaries. According
to Allen in Steinberg (2005), coevals' effect begins at a young age and grows throughout
adolescence. Knowing your contemporaries' prospects and challenges is critical to your
productivity. Instructional procedures and faculty system organizational design in order to
improve student academic achievement. The socializing of humans with others in the
environment is scattered throughout their growth. STEM students achievements are said to be
linked to the support they receive from their parents, teachers, and peers, all of whom have an
impact on their academic performance (Chen, 2008). Peer pressure appears to have a variety of
consequences on students' academic performance in class. It's the way their peers influence them,
whether positively or negatively. Students are forced to seek solace from others in the company
of their peers, despite the fact that they do not appear to be conscious of how their friends
influence them academically. Peers play an important role in the social and emotional
development of students, particularly STEM students in Grade 12 who are expected to graduate
and begin a new journey in college.

The study of Moldes et al. (2019) highlighted that adolescent have higher tendency to
experience peer pressure in school. The researcher clustered it in four categories namely as:
social belongingness, curiosity, cultural-parenting orientation of parent and education. The study
is conducted with senior high school students as their respondents. In the results, it was found out
that graduating senior high school students have encountered different factors in relation the
categories mentioned above. It is declared that peer pressure does not give negative impact
directly to student toward their peers as there several factors that could affect their academic
performance. The study of Kimshi Hickman, underrepresented minority students (URM) are
lagging behind White and Asian students in graduating with STEM degrees. Peer education has
been used throughout higher education institutions as pedagogy and a learning strategy to
improve retention and graduation rates. In addition to improving persistence rates, the use of peer
education has served to prevent the loss of revenues in higher education. The involvement of
peers in providing academic support outside of the classroom has proven to be beneficial to the
success of URM college students. Although many studies have examined the impact of academic
peer education on the participants, few have evaluated the impact peer-led team learning (PLTL)
as a model with URM students in STEM. As colleges and universities seek to impact the
educational experience of all students, it is important to understand the academic benefits for
URM students. It is hoped that this study will inform practitioners about the persistence and
academic performance of URM students in STEM to develop best practices in using institution
resources to impact persistence rates. Post positivism framed this quantitative study examining
the performance of underrepresented minority students in PLTL leader for science, technology,
engineering, and math (STEM) courses at a research institution in Texas. Of specific interest was
the course grade rates and retention rates in subsequent STEM courses. Data analyses were
conducted through the use of the quantitative methods, including inferential and descriptive
statistics. Findings from the study contribute to the ability of practitioners to increase student
success for academic peer educators, therefore preventing the loss of tuition dollars.
 The researchers conveyed this particular study purposely to know Grade 12 Senior High
School students in the strand of Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics (STEM)
from VNHS to perceive analysis on peer pressure or the influence wielded by people within the
same social group that'll affect their Academic Performance. Objectively requiring further
investigation to apprehend the overall range and significant relationship between their Academic
Performance due to peer pressure experienced by selected Grade 12 Senior High School
Students. Moreover the data and information of our respondents will be valued and it will not be
put in concern, the researchers will take responsibility to ensure its security from this conveyed
study. Thus this investigation is not intended for self -interest but it was conducted to reach an
answer sought by the researchers and also to those who will next conduct such a study.