INFLUENCE OF SCHOOL ENVIRONMENT AND PEER GROUP ON STUDENTS’ ACADEMIC ACHIEVEMENT IN ALIMOSHO LOCAL GOVERNMENT AREA, LAGOS STATE, NIGERIA.

CHAPTER ONE

1.1. Background to the Study:

In Nigeria, educational institutions focus primarily on building and developing human capacity to meet the nation's developmental needs at all levels. According to the introductions to the 2013 edition of the National Policy on Education, education is viewed as an investment in economic, social, and political development. an all-encompassing instrument for socially excluded and poor individuals' empowerment; a true means of developing sound, intelligent, and relevant learning societies for the 21st century, an effective means of developing the full capacities and potentials of human resources, as well as the development of a competent workforce through the acquisition of practical life skills relevant to the workplace. It is instructive to note from the preceding that educational institutions in Nigeria are burdened with enormous responsibilities, but there are obstacles to achieving this objective. Peer pressure and school discipline are two of them, but many other things also play a role. Numerous studies have shown that some of these factors are to blame for the decline of the educational system.

This study looks at academic achievement to see which students do exceptionally well and which do exceptionally poorly. It is frequently discovered that peer pressure and school discipline are the primary causes of such scores variations. Therefore, it is essential to investigate the extent of these contributions as well as their impact on students in order to provide parents, teachers, educational planners, and the government with useful recommendations.

a variety of factors, including the size of the classroom, the low teacher-to-student ratio, inadequate instructional materials, the teachers' attitude toward the work, and the students' lack of seriousness. However, the researcher in this study looked at how peer pressure and school discipline affect academic performance.

The kind of school a student attends has a significant impact on their level of academic success. The structure, composition, and climate of a school are all factors. The institutional setting that determines a student's learning experience is the school they attend. School-level characteristics are being studied to discover ways to improve achievement for all students as schools face increased public accountability for student academic achievement. According to Hoy, Kottkamp, & Rafferty (2003), there has been a lot of research done on the relationship between student achievement, climate, socioeconomic conditions, and teaching skills. Schools can either open or close the doors that lead to academic success based on the environment (Barry, 2005).

Crosnoe and co. 2004) state that the size of the class and the type of school (public or private) are two important structural components of the school. Private schools typically have smaller class sizes and better funding than public schools. According to Eamon (2005), more access to resources like computers, which have been shown to increase academic achievement, is a direct result of the increased funding for private schools. Student academic performance is also influenced by teacher experience. According to Bali & Alverez (2003), students tend to perform better at schools with more teachers holding full credentials. The interpersonal relationships that exist between students and teachers have a direct impact on the school climate. Crosnoe et al. say that ( 2004), the general atmosphere of a school is its climate. If the school encourages students and teachers to work together, trust will grow.

According to research, students who have faith in their teachers perform better in school and are more motivated (Eamon, 2005). The atmosphere of a school is frequently influenced by its policies and programs. Besides, on the off chance that a school can achieve a sense of safety, understudies can have achievement no matter what their family or neighborhood foundations (Crosnoe et al., 2004). According to Muleyi (2008), teachers do have an impact on students' academic performance. The way students are treated by teachers is one of the school variables that affect their academic performance.

 According to Odhiambo (2005), there is a growing public and government demand for teacher accountability. Students' achievement data are frequently used in school evaluations (Heck, 2009). Teachers cannot be separated from the educational outcomes of the schools in which they teach. Therefore, it would make sense to evaluate teachers' performance based on the results of standardized student assessments. When their schools and teaching subjects achieve high rankings, teachers rejoice and are rewarded. Teachers in schools that have been rated as high-performing by the National Performance Evaluation System of Subsidized Schools, for instance, receive collective compensation in Chile. Open education days are held annually in every district in Kenya to recognize teachers who excel in their subject areas (Cherongis, 2010).

According to Rivkin, Hanushek, and Kain (2005), there has never been a general agreement regarding the specific teacher factors that influence the academic achievement of students. With varying results, researchers have looked at how teacher characteristics like gender, educational background, and teaching experience affect students' academic performance. According to Akiri and Ugborugbo (2008), teachers' gender has a significant impact on students' academic achievement. Dee, as cited in Akiri and Ugborugbo (2008), disagrees with this. Yala and Wanjohi (2011) and Adeyemi (2010) discovered that the most important predictors of students' academic achievement are teachers' experience and educational credentials. Nevertheless, Rivkin et al. 2005) discovered that teachers' educational qualifications and teaching experience have little impact on student achievement. Etsy’s (2005). According to a study conducted in Ghana, teacher factors such as tardiness to school, absenteeism, and inability to complete syllabi are significant contributors to low academic achievement. According to Oredein and Oloyede (2007), teachers' management of homework and assignments has an effect on student achievement, particularly when it is well explained, corrected, and reviewed during class time and used as an opportunity for students to receive feedback.

Adesoji and Olatunbosun (2008) demonstrate that student attitude influences teacher characteristics, while Perkins (2013) demonstrates that teacher attitude significantly influences student attention in classrooms. The implication is that students' attitudes are directly influenced by the attitude of teachers. According to Adu and Olatundun (2007), teacher personality is a significant factor in the achievement of secondary school students. According to Patrick (2005), scholars and researchers generally agree that, in comparison to other variables, school variables like teacher administration play a crucial role in educational achievement. It is undeniable that educators play a significant role in the teaching-learning process. Classroom behavior is heavily influenced by teachers. Without certain skills, teachers may not be able to influence their students' academic performance in their subject areas.  In order for students to easily transfer what they learn in school and use it to solve problems in real life, teachers need to employ instructional strategies that are both appropriate and effective. In contrast, Kara and Russell (2001) make the observation that there is no agreement regarding the significance of particular teacher factors, which leads to the common conclusion that the existing empirical evidence does not demonstrate that teachers play a significant role in determining academic achievement.

As a result, the goal of the study was to find out how peer group pressure and the school environment affect student achievement. In the setting of the school, the researcher would like to observe: whether teachers grade, mark, and revise assignments on time, reward or motivate students to learn, or whether peer group influences have influenced the school's tone? In this area, little work has been done. The impact of classroom and school characteristics on academic performance has been the subject of research.

Variables describing the aggregation of classroom properties within schools have been studied somewhat less frequently in school analyses, but variables describing student achievement aggregated to the school level have been used extensively to describe school output. However, direct measures at the school level, such as the building and physical environment, as well as the social and psychological environments of the school, have been utilized frequently (Crosnoe et al., 2004). According to Kombo (2005), the head teacher's leadership style creates a learning environment. Conversations are encouraged and students are listened to when there is a warm relationship between the head teacher and the students. Together with students, the head teacher teaches them how to succeed in life and in school. Every member of the school contributes to the decision-making process, and students are typically disciplined and possess academic attitudes of positivity. The head teacher maintains formal relationships with a number of other individuals or groups both within and outside the educational system. In addition to teachers and students, he or she interacts with parents, members of the school's community, and educational officers.

Peer group pressure is another important variable that this study needs to address. Lingret and Wentgel (2005) discovered that the modeling value of the family decreases as children grow up and progress into adulthood, resulting in an increase in involvement with and the influence of peer identification. During early childhood, the modeling environment provided by the family context is typically replaced by a peer group. This influences the identification processes of young people and, to some extent, their values, sense of ethics, and philosophy of life. It also influences social expectations, school relationships, and commitment. The youth are put under a certain amount of pressure to adhere to their peers' convictions or be rejected because they seek social recognition.

   Peer pressure and academic behavior in young people have been the subject of extensive research. According to Warr and Mark (2003), peer pressure influences youth behavior. Peer groups consist of friends who are roughly the same age. The connection between peer interaction and the emergence of antisocial and criminal behavior has piqued a lot of interest in the field of crime prevention over the years. This study investigates the influence of school environment and peer group pressure on students' achievement in Alimosho Local Government Area, Lagos State, Nigeria. Peer group influence, especially during adolescence and early adulthood, is a powerful force for both pro- and anti-social development.

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