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My pupils as they were having their quarterly exams. If you notice, there are vacant seats which signify the absence of some pupils. this goes to show that even important tests are skipped by frequent absentee students. Ads by Google
class will learn from the days classroom activities. And it is most satisfying when all students are present on that day and the days thereafter to ensure maximum learning. Sadly, it is very difficult to achieve a perfect attendance among my students.No matter how interesting and well-prepared my lessons and teaching materials are, there are bound to be students who miss out the days activities, willingly or unwillingly. This is particularly true to those of us teaching in the public schools. We all know that almost half or maybe majority of our students come from poverty-stricken families or from families whose meager income is just enough to put food on their tables. _________________________________________________________________ Absenteeism among my students is one of the problems which I would like to minimize, if not eradicate completely. That is why I conducted an action research to understand them better. I dont want to rely on the reasons or causes I read in magazines, books or the web. This would provide me with a more accurate analysis of why some of my students are perennial absentees. This would help me formulate plans, projects and programs to minimize their absences. I hope that it would also enlighten you , the readers.Even if you may not be part of the school system, who knows, you might be of help in one way or another to solve student absenteeism. Please read on ________________________________________________________________
Causes of Absenteeism Among the Grade VI Students of Zapote Elementary School School Year 2010-2011 Abstract
Student absenteeism is a perennial problem of all teachers. Every curriculum year, it is one of the problems that they have to contend to. It is not only the teachers who are concerned with this problem but the school administrators as well.
This action research examined the causes of absenteeism of the Grade VI students of Zapote Elementary School for the school year 2010-2011. When they were in Grade V, they were the class which has the most number of absentees everyday. This was gathered from the data contained in the daily attendance record being passed around and kept by the teacher-leaders office everyday and is regularly filled up by the teachers in each grade level for the whole year. Now that they are in Grade VI, some of them are still frequent absentees. It is for this reason that this research was undertaken. It has the end in view of understanding and correcting such undesirable pupil behavior. Based on the findings, methods/strategies were recommended to minimize, if not eradicate absenteeism or truancy. _________________________________________________________________
Introduction
Absenteeism, according to Merriam-Webster dictionary means chronic absence. In the context of the school it is the habitual or intentional failure from going to school. It cannot be denied that every now and then, students may miss some school activities and lessons. But it becomes a problem if the student will be away from school for many days. Going to school regularly is crucially important for a students education and social skills. Chronic absentee students are placed at a disadvantage both socially and academically. They miss out on critical stages of social interaction and development with their peers and at the same time impacts negatively on their academic progress. This can result to low self-esteem, social isolation and dissatisfaction that could well have precipitated non-attendance in the first place. School absenteeism is an alarming problem for administrators, teachers, parents and the society in general, as well as for the pupils in particular. Unaccepted absence has a negative effect on peer relationship which could cause absence. According to Malcolm, Wilson, Davidson and Kirk (2003) teachers identified effects of absenteeism on children as: academic under- achievement, difficulty in making friends which could lead to boredom, loss of confidence. Also, prolonged absence can have deleterious effects for the child in later life. Students who are absent from school are at the greatest risk of dropping out of school early. Absenteeism also affects the teachers ability present class work in a sequential and organized way. This can have an effect on the progress of all the students attending the class.
The families of habitual absentees can also suffer. For a poverty-stricken family, it may mean a continuation of the poverty and unemployment cycle that may run in the family. This also contributes to family conflicts. The society also suffers as the children of school age hang around in the streets. They can be found just gallivanting around. Since they have nothing to do, they resort to petty crimes like stealing other peoples belongings and properties. Others may resort to drug addiction and other behavior that is detrimental to society. Thus, if the student keeps on being away from school for too long, he may grow up to be a liability of his community and of his country as a whole. It is the aim of every school to lessen, if not eradicate absenteeism among its students. One way of addressing this problem is to identify the causes why students become truant from school. Once they are singled out, understood and analyzed, specific actions and measures can be undertaken. This will eventually redound to the better performance of the students, teachers and the school in general. It is in this context that this action research was undertaken, that is, to identify the causes why the Grade VI students in this school absent themselves from their classes. _________________________________________________________________
b. 3. I have a headache b. 4. Im down with fever/flu. b. 5. I have other diseases like diarrhea, etc. c. Personal Attitude c. 1. I am not interested in my studies. c. 2. I feel lazy. c. 3. My friends influence me to be absent from my classes. c. 4. I cant concentrate in my studies. c. 5. I didn't wake up early. c. 6. I did not study/make my assignments the night before. c. 7. I got fond of playing computer games. d. Teacher-related reasons d. 1. My teacher scolded me. d. 2. I cant understand my teachers lessons. d. 3. I dont like my teacher. e. Classroom atmosphere e. 1. Our classroom is hot and uncomfortable. e. 2. Its noisy inside our classroom. e. 3. A classmate/classmates bully me. 4. I have no friends in our class. f. Home-related factors f. 1. My parents ask me to be absent from class. f. 2. My parents quarreled. f. 3. My parents dont care about my studies. f. 4. I do many household chores.
f. 5. I have no money to buy snacks in school. f. 6. We have no food/I did not eat. 3. What strategies can be proposed to minimize, if not totally eradicate absenteeism among thepupils? _________________________________________________________________
Methodology
This study used the descriptive survey method. A questionnaire was used to determine the causes of absenteeism among the students where they rated each situation/reason/cause presented. All the data gathered from the respondents were organized, tallied, tabulated and presented in a series of tables and graphs. Frequency counts, percentage weight values and weighted mean were used in the analysis and interpretation of data. The responses of the pupils were analyzed using a 5-point Likert Scale with the following equivalent: 1 -Never 2 -Rarely 3 -Sometimes 4 -Very Often 5 -Always It is be to be noted that the questionnaire given to the students were given in their native dialect in order for them to understand better what they were answering, thus, giving more chances of accurate responses.
The rounding of figures was done to signify classification of responses. The measure of central tendency specifically the mean was used to determine the average value of response or response average of the pupils.
reasons ranged from 1.08 to 1.39 include having no money to spend for snacks and other small expenses in school, no breakfast/food, and that their parents quarreled. The response average or the mean was computed by multiplying the percentage of responses by the equivalent value of each frequency and then adding them all. e.g.(5 x 0%) + (4 x 3%) + (3 x 13%) + (2 x 7%) + (1 x 77%) = 1.42 ________________________________________________________________
Conclusions
Among all the causes presented, health is the primary reason why students are absent from their classes. Flu/fever is the leading culprit in this category. Oral health, which according to the Department of Education is the main reason why pupils are absent, is just third among the reasons cited in the said category by the Grade VI students studying in Zapote Elementary School for the school year 2010-2011. Classroom atmosphere, personal attitude, teacher factor and home-related reasons follow in that order. The least reason they give is related to their physical environment. Considering all the factors/categories cited, the top 10 reasons of student absenteeism are as follows: 1) Flu/fever 2) Cant wake up early 3) Noise inside the classroom 4) Headache 5) Other diseases such as diarrhea 6) Parents asking them to be absent 7) Pre- occupation with household chores 8.3) Toothache 8.3) No money to buy snacks in school 8.3) Bullied by a classmate/classmates _______________________________________________________________
Recommendations
The following are recommended to limit the students absenteeism and prevent their occurrences: 1.Educate the students on how to take care of their overall well-being. Emphasis should be given to oral health and over-all body wellness. Teach them how to avoid communicable diseases as well. Give them information on how to properly wash their hands which is the main source of germs and bacteria among children. Let them develop proper eating habits. Since most of the children in the school come from poor families, point out to them the cheap but healthy foods. Ask them to pass on this information to their parents. 2.Time and again, classroom atmosphere should be made conducive to learning. Noisereduction among students should be a priority as this really affects them. Older children like the Grade VI students tend to have louder voices so it should be inculcated in them how to speak softly and without needing to shout. The key here is discipline.The teacher must also see to it that the students are comfortable and have no other concerns except the lesson at hand. There should be a lively interaction between the teacher and the students but the teacher should see to it that it will be in modulated voices so as not to impair the hearing of the students due to too much noise when doing classroom activities. Include proper room ventilation and lighting so as not to distract pupils from their learning. 3.During parents conferences, inform the parents about the benefit of keeping their children in school at all times when there are classes. Emphasize to them that if they keep on asking their children to be absent, this will set a bad precedence to the child. If the parents themselves will be the one to keep them away from school, they will think that household concerns are more important than their education, thus the children will take for granted their coming to school regularly and suffer the consequences of it. 4.Although it cant be avoided that the teacher gets peeved with pupils bad behavior, he/she should refrain from scolding the erring pupils. As much as possible, remind them of their wrong doing in a most diplomatic manner. Self-control should be a virtue which the teacher should practice in the course of her teaching everyday of the school week. 5.Give extra attention to those who are left behind in the lessons. Tap the bright pupils to teach their slower classmates, for all we know, these slow pupils might
learn/understand better if persons of their same age are the ones explaining to them. In other words, cooperative learning should be practiced in the teaching-learning process. Once a slow student fully understands the lesson, he/she can keep up with his/her other classmates, thus self-confidence is gained. This way, they will be more motivated to come to school regularly. 6.Imbibe in the mind of the children that their academic success is very much dependent on their attitude towards school. Motivate them so they will be looking forward to attending their classes regularly. For those who wake up late, encourage them to have an alarm clock. Do not scold the pupils who come late. Give them a timetable to change their sleeping habit for the better. In line will this, studying before retiring to bed instead of watching TV should be prioritized and instilled to the pupils. _______________________________________________________________
Frequency of Responses
Always (5) A. Physical Factor 1. Our house is far from the school. 2. It is unsafe to go to school. 3. Nobody accompanies me in going to school since it is far. B. Health 1. I have a toothache. 2. My stomach hurts. 3. I have a headache 4. I'm down with fever/flu. 5. I have other diseases like diarrhea, etc. C.Personal Attitude 1. I am not interested in my studies. 2. I feel lazy. 3. My friends influence me to be absent from my classes. 4. I can't concentrate in my studies. 5. I didn't wake up early. 6. I did not study/make my assignments the night before. 7. I got fond of playing computer games. D. Teacher-Related Factors 1. My teacher scolded me. 2. I can't understand my teacher's lessons. 3. I don't like my teacher. E. Classroom
0 0
60
0 0 0 0 0
2 0 1 5 1
8 10 14 22 9
4 4 9 25 15
46 46 36 8 35
0 0 0 0 0 0 0
0 0 0 0 5 2 1
0 5 2 9 16 5 5
0 6 1 9 8 7 0
60 49 57 42 31 46 54
0 0 0
1 0 0
6 7 0
7 5 0
46 48 60
Always (5) atmosphere 1.Our classroom is hot and uncomfortable. 2. It's noisy inside our classroom. 3. A classmate/classmates bully me. 4. I have no friends in our class. F. Home-Related Factors 1. My parents ask me to be absent from class. 2. My parents quarreled. 3. My parents don't care about my studies. 4. I'm too pre-occupied with household chores. 5. I have no money to buy snacks in school. 6. We have no food/I did not eat.
s
0 4 0 0
0 0 0 1 0 0
0 0 0 3 1 0
10 2 1 5 8 7
11 1 1 5 4 4
39 57 58 47 47 59