Informal Learning among School Boys: The Role of Peers and School Personnel

To assess the extent of informal learning among school boys, a sample of 650 fifth grader boys was given two questionnaires on things that one might learn from peers and school personnel. The factor analysis of the collected data led to the identification of 7 factors that collectively account for more than half of the observed variance. Chief among these factors are friends, teachers, principals, and vice principals who seem to be models for both desirable and undesirable behaviors. Hence, school administrators need to pay more attention to their behaviors.