Peer group influence

The istudy ifocuses ion iinvestigating ipeer igroup iinfluence ion icareer ichoice iamong isecondaryischoolistudentsiiniOviaiNorthiEastiLocaliGovernmentiAreaiofiEdoiState. Out iof ithe itwenty-four ipublic isecondary ischools iin iOvia iNorth iEast iLocal iGovernment, ieightisecondary ischoolsiwere iselected iforithe istudy. iThisirepresentsi33.3%iof ithe itotal isecondary ischoolsiin ithe ilocal igovernment. iIn ieach iof ithe iselected ischool, itwenty istudentsiand ifive iteachersiwere irandomly iselected ito imake ia itotal inumber iof itwo ihundred i(200)irespondents. iAisimpleirandomisamplingitechniqueiwasiuseditoiselectitheirespondents. iTheiresearchiinstrumentiforidataicollectioniwasiaiquestionnaireititledi“PeeriGroupiInfluence ion iCareer iChoice iQuestionnaire i(PGICCQ). i iThe isimple ipercentage imethod iwas iused ito ianalyseitheidataicollected. Findingsirevealedithatitheileveliofipeerigroupiinfluenceionicareerichoiceiofisecondary ischool istudentsiin iOvia iNorth iEast iLocal iGovernment iArea iofiEdo iState iisilow. iIt iwasialso irevealedithatiwasiaisignificantiinfluenceiofipeerigroupionistudents‟icareerichoices. iHowever, ithere iwasino isignificant idifference iin ithe iinfluence iofipeerigroup ibetween imale iand ifemale istudents iin itheir ichoice iof icareer. i iIt iwas itherefore irecommended ithat iprofessional icareer icounsellor ishould ibe iconsulted ito iassist istudents iin iplanning iand ichoosing itheir icareers. iSchools, iin icollaboration iwith ithe iMinistry iof iEducation, ishould iendeavour ito iorganize iat ileast ione imandatory icareer iprogramme ithat iwill iinvolve iprofessionals iand iexperts ifrom ivariousifieldsiofilife. iSuchiprogrammeishouldibeicoordinatedibyitheiguidanceicounsellor.

This study explored how peer group influence affects students’ decisions to choose History as a course at the University of Benin, Nigeria. It examined peer interest, pressure, discussions, and approval or disapproval as key social factors influencing academic choices. Using a descriptive survey design, the study targeted 100 final-year History Education students from the Department of Educational Foundations. A census method was adopted, and data were collected through a validated, reliable questionnaire (Cronbach Alpha = 0.83) distributed via Google Forms on departmental WhatsApp groups. Findings showed that peer interest and discussions strongly shaped students' positive perceptions of History, often making the course more appealing. Peer discussions also helped reinforce the relevance of the discipline, indicating that academic choices are socially constructed. While peer encouragement and approval had moderate effects, peer disapproval appeared to have little influence, suggesting students maintained a degree of autonomy. The study recommends fostering structured peer interactions in academic settings to support informed course selection. It also emphasizes the need for educators and policymakers to value intrinsic motivation while recognizing the important role of peer networks in shaping academic decisions, particularly in less vocationally driven disciplines like History