Who Do Students Ask for Help With Classwork? Sources of Help and Changes in Help-Seeking From Peers During Early Adolescence

Abstract

This study used peer nominations to identify who students ask for help in class. We describe the level of friendship affiliation that students' share with their peer helpers, and their classroom behavior reputations. Participants were 1037 fifth (49%) and sixth (51%) graders with varied gender and ethnic-racial backgrounds (51% girls; 43% White, 29% Black, 6% Hispanic, 6% Asian, 17% multiracial and other). We used multilevel modeling to examine how peer helpers and teachers’ help were related to changes in peer help-seeking. Teacher help was related to higher adaptive and lower expedient help-seeking. Peer academic reputation was related to changes in expedient help-seeking. When students asked higher achieving non-friends for help this was positively related to expedient help seeking, whereas this association was weaker among friends and best friends. Teachers need to explain how and when to seek help from peers. High achieving peers can reinforce classmates’ requests for expedient help.