Peers’ Influence on Student Motivation and Performance in Physical Education and Sport Sciences: A Systematic Review

Abstract

Peers belong to the group of those individuals who have the ability to influence significantly on the lives of their fellow peers. Both their positive and negative attitudes and behaviours have been suggested to shape the overall development of an individual especially during their formative years. However, no prior systematic review has been conducted in the past to assess the influence of peers on student motivation and its association with academic learning and physical performance in the realm of physical education, thus highlighting a significant research gap. Therefore, this study was designed to examine the probable influence of peers on student motivation and performance in the realm of Physical Education and Sports Sciences. Various well-regarded research databases were adopted to carry out this systematic search. The identification of the most suitable articles was conducted following the PRISMA guidelines. This comprehensive review was based on the pre-established criteria set for the selection of the studies. After the completion of quality evaluation procedure, only 9 studies could make it to the final sample of the review. Eight out of the nine included studies supported the view that peers' influence positively on student motivation, leading to improved academic learning and physical performance of physical education students. In contrast, only one study was of the view that peers influenced negatively on student motivation, thus lowering their academic learning and physical performance. Taking these findings into account, there is ample evidence to suggest that peers might influence positively on student motivation, therefore, improving their academic learning and physical performance of physical education students.