Dr Adewumi Adeoye Adepoju, Prof Oluyomi Susan Pitan & Dr Dolapo Omotayo Raji
Abstract
This study investigated peer influence and the academic motivation of public senior secondary school students in Southwest Nigeria. A descriptive research design was adopted for the study. Two research questions were raised and answered, while one hypothesis was formulated and tested at 0.05 level of significance. The population of the study comprised 208,804 senior secondary school students, while a sample of 1,187 students was used. Data were collected using an adapted instrument titled Secondary School Students’ Academic Motivation Questionnaire (SSAMQ), which yielded a reliability coefficient of 0.985. The findings of the study revealed, among others, that senior secondary school students in Southwest Nigeria demonstrated a high level of academic motivation (x̄ = 3.10), the level of peer influence among students was high (x̄ = 2.86), and that peer influence significantly influenced students’ academic motivation (β = 0.870, t = 128.663, p < 0.05). The study therefore concluded that peer relationships play a significant role in shaping students’ motivation toward learning and academic achievement. Based on the findings, the study recommended that schools should establish peer mentoring and collaborative learning programmes that encourage positive peer interaction and promote improved academic motivation and performance among students.