Project 3: Social & Relational Contexts

Peer Power Plus — Social Relationships & Their Influence on the Academic, Motivational, Social and Emotional Functioning of Secondary Students

PI: Dr Imelda CALEON

Co-PI(s): Dr Chee Yeen Melvin CHAN, Dr Lu-Ming Trivina KANG, Dr. LIU Wei Cheng

Project Objectives

  • Examine how the students’ social relationships change over four years in secondary school and how these changes are linked to students’ functioning in varied domains
  • Investigate the contextual factors and processes linked to students’ peer relationships, such as family and school climate and structures
  • Explore how schools’ structures, programmes, and cultural practices affect the stability and change patterns in students’ peer relationships

Study Focus

Year 1 (2023): Project 3 seeks to explore the nature and structure of students’ peer relationships and examine how such aspects of peer relationships are associated with academic, motivational, social, and emotional outcomes of secondary students.

Year 2-4 (2024-2026): Project 3 aims to examine the changes in students’ peer networks and quality of relationships with key significant others (i.e., peers, parents and teachers), and the influence of students’ peer networks attributes and quality of key relationships on students’ academic, motivational, social, and emotional outcomes over time.

Key Constructs of Interest

Social capital
Psychosocial wellbeing
Peer networks
Social mobility
Motivation and engagement

Latest Updates

Project 1, Project 3, Project 5

DREAMS on the Global Stage: Presentations Across 4 Continents (2025)

This year, the DREAMS team has been actively sharing our research with international communities across Asia, Europe, Oceania and the United States. This range of presentations reflects the breadth of our work. From exploring adolescent friendships to examining career readiness and socio-emotional growth, our investigators have brought insights from Singapore’s youth to the global stage. Our team values the opportunities to share these insights while engaging in global conversations on adolescent development. Here’s a look...

Lead Project, Project 1, Project 2, Project 3, Project 4, Project 5, Project 6, Project 7

Principals & School Leaders Sharing 2025

On 26 August 2025, we welcomed over 100 attendees from our DREAMS partner schools, along with MOE representatives and the DREAMS research team, for an engaging afternoon of sharing and discussion on the project's latest findings. The session began with Prof Kenneth Poon, Lead Principal Investigator (PI) of DREAMS, who shared broad insights from our study...

Project 1, Project 3

Research and Management Information Division (MOE) Learning Day

On 27 August 2024, two of our Principal Investigators presented key insights from their research at the Ministry of Education's Research and Management Information Division (RMID) Learning Day, contributing to the ongoing conversation on adolescent development and education in Singapore....

Lead Project, Project 1, Project 2, Project 3, Project 4, Project 5, Project 6, Project 7

DREAMS @ The Redesigning Pedagogy International Conference (RPIC)

Our research team will be presenting at the Redesigning Pedagogy International Conference (RPIC) on 29 and 30 May. If you are attending the conference, we hope you can join us as we share more about our Year 1 findings....

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