Abstract:

Research in the field of Educational Sciences shows the positive role of social relations in the psychological and educational development of students. It is known that during high school friendships crystallize, teenagers form groups of friends of different extensions. We started our research from the fact that lasting friendship is formed in the narrow group of friends, within which, over time, high school students understand what true friendship means.

This paper analyzes the factors that determine the extension of the group of friends, but also the duration of a friendship, from the perspective of high school students. We administered a questionnaire to a group of students on the basis of which we conducted a series of analyzes. The extension of the group of friends was analyzed on two levels: groups of friends under 10 members, respectively groups over 10 members. The research data led us to the following main conclusions: girls prefer smaller groups of friends (60.40%), compared to boys who prefer large groups of friends (69.16%). It is also noted that more than 60% of the students in the lower cycle of high school (9th and 10th grades), tend to be part of large groups of friends. In the 11th grade, a balance between large and smaller groups is observed, and in the 12th grade, at the end of high school, the clear option for small groups is recorded in more than two-thirds of respondents (66.14%).

The level of training, namely the personal school expectations, is a factor that influences the extension of the group. Students with low levels of education tend to enter large groups (67.42%). The same thing happens to those with low expectations in terms of the level of education they are aiming for: about 60% of students who want to attend only the courses of a high school or vocational schools have large groups of friends. Starting from the need for socialization of students, we wanted to find out if there is a relationship between group extension and family extension. The data show us an inverse proportionality between the family extension and the extension of the group of friends: children with small families (in which there are no more than 2 children) are predominantly part of large groups of friends.

The research shows that there are also no differences depending on the residence environment of the respondents (urban or rural environment). It is also found that high school students from functional families prefer large groups of friends.

Keywords:

Education, personal development, friends, students, family.