Chapter 3: Will the Real Peer Group Please Stand Up?: A “Tensegrity” Approach to Examining the Synergistic Influences of Peer Groups and Friendship Networks on Academic Development

Over the past decade, multiple strands of research have converged on the conclusion that peers play an important role in the academic success of children and youth. Two of the most prominent areas of research focus on different kinds of naturally occurring peer relationships: One examines friendships (e.g., Berndt & McCandless, 2009; see also Hartup 1995, 2009) and one examines children’s peer groups (e.g., Cairns & Cairns, 1992; Kindermann, 2007). Both have demonstrated that peers have an effect on the development of students’ academic motivation and achievement, but their target phenomena, methods, and theoretical traditions have remained largely distinct. The goal of this chapter is to begin bridging these areas in order to create a more complex and comprehensive map of the world of peers that may be used to better guide the study of the effects of peers on the development of children and adolescents.