8 Peer perceptions of academically high-performing adolescents in regular classrooms: A country-comparative analysis of gender and academic achievement level

This comparative international study investigated how students in mixed-ability seventh-grade classrooms in six countries (Australia, UK, Spain, Peru, South Korea, and Vietnam) perceived a fictitious academically able peer. Using a hypothetical figure in each country group, empirical research data was gathered through quantitative methods. Gender issues were explored through the gender of the perceiver and the gender of the high performer. The fictitious high-performing students’ intellectual ability, positive social traits, and popularity were detected differently among the countries in the gender of the perceiver. Only the popularity of the high-performing boy and girl was differently expected among the country groups.

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