TABLE OF CONTENTS
DECLARATION
APPROVAL
DEDICATION
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
TABLE OF CONTENTS
LIST OF TABLES vW
ABSTRACT ix
ACRONYMS
CHAPTER ONE 1
INTRODUCTION 1
1.0 Background of the Study 1
1.1 Statement of the Problem
1.2 Purpose of the Study 6
1.3 Objectives of the Study 7
1.4 Research Questions 7
1.5 Scope of the study 7
1.6. Significance of the Study 7
1 .7Limitation of the Study 8
CHAPTER TWO
LITERATURE REVIEW 9
2.0 Introduction
2.2 Peer group prior achievements and girl student academic performance 9
2.3 Peer group composition and girl student academic performance 10
2.4 peer group learning environment and girl student academic performance 12
2.5 Theoretical Framework 14
2.6 Conceptual Framework 16
2.7 Summary 17
CHAPTER THREE 18
V
RESEARCH METHODOLOGy .18
3.0. Introduction 18
3.1 Research Design 18
3.2. Target Population 18
3.4 This section include the sample size of the study and the sampling procedure 19
3.4.1 Sample size 19
3.4.2. Sampling Procedure
3.5 Data Collection Instruments 19
3.5.1 Piloting 20
3.5.2 Validity of the Instruments 21
3.5.3 Reliability of the research instruments 21
3.6 Data Collection Procedures 22
3.7 Data Analysis Techniques 22
3.8 Ethical Considerations 22
3.9 Operational Definition of Variables 23
CHAPTER FOUR 24
DATA PRESENTATION, ANALYSIS, AND INTERPRETATION OF FIDINGS 24
4.0. Introduction 24
4.2 Response Return Rate 24
4.3 Demographic information of the respondents 24
4.3.1 Distribution of the respondents by age 24
4.3.2 Distribution of respondents by age 25
4.3.3 Gender of the respondents 25
4.4 Influence of peer group prior achievement on academic performance of form one
students in secondary school in Mpigi district 25
4.4.1 Influence of Peer group members prior grades on academic performance 26
4.4.2 Influence of peer group learning resources on girls’ educational attainments 26
4.5 Influence of peer group composition on girl educational attainments in secondary
Schools 27
4.5,1. Influences of peer group pocket money spent per month on girls’ educational
attainments 28
4.5.2 Influence of peer group family background on girls’ educational attainments 29
vi
CHAPTER FIVE .30
SUMMARY OF FINDINGS, CONCLUSION AND RECOMMENDATION 30
5.0. Introduction 30
5.2 Summary of findings 30
5.3 Conclusions 30
5.4 Recommendations of the Study 31
5.5 Recommendation for further research 32
REFERENCES
APPENDICES
APPENDIX A: QUESTIONNAIRE 37
ABSTRACT This qualitative and quantitative study was undertaken to investigate the relationshz~ between peer influence and academic performance of senior one girls in selected secondary schools in Buwama town council in Mpigi district Uganda. The study was guided by the following objectives: To establish how peer group prior achievements influence senior one girls’ educational attainments; to investigate how group compositions peer has influenced senior one girl ~ educational attainments; to examine how peer learning environment has influenced senior one girls educational attainments. The key instrument applied in this study was the questionnaire which was characterized by the three types of item construction mentioned above, as well as a selected response format of A Likert scale. A total number of sixty eight respondents were utilized for this study. Findings indicate that peer group members who scored good marks in FLE had positive influence on girls’ educational attainments in secondary schools. Students seemed to do better in their early stages ofSecondary school when their new Schoolmates had a good record ofprior achievement. My reading of this result was that there was some form of social interaction between students that promoted higher attainments. And lastly it was asserted that peer group text book ratio had no sign~fIcant influence on girls’ educational attainments in secondary schools. Concerning influence ofpeer group composition on girl student academic performance in secondary schools, findings showed that little pocket money spend per month had a positive influence to girl student performance. This showed that low money spent by peers is an important ‘contextual’influence on student attainments. It was deduced that neither a rich nor a poor family background had any significant influence on girl student academic performance. On the basis ofthe findings and conclusions above, the following section presents the recommendations of the study; Students and school stakeholders should be made aware of the benefits ofpeer group prior achievements as it greatly influences academic performance of students in secondary schools; Schools administration and other stakeholders should advise the parents on the amount ofmoney to give to their daughters as pocket money as it has influence on the academic performance of the students in secondary schools, School administration and stakeholders should provide good teaching/ learning environment in order to achieve good academic performance