Statement of the Problem

Independent Variable

Dependent Variable

A. Profile
1. Age
2. Gender
3. Area of Specialization
4. Civil Status
5. Educational Attainment

Possible Factors of Absenteeism

Of students in
College of Industrial Education
B. Factors of Absenteeism
1. Illness
2. Tardiness
3. Environment
4. Lack of Subject Interest
5. Lack of Confidence

Research Paradigm
The main purpose of the study is to find out the possible factors of absenteeism
of students in College of Industrial Education (CIE)

1.) What is the Profile of respondent in terms of :

A. Age
B. Gender
C. Area of Specialization
D. Civil Status
E. Education Attainment

2.) What are the possible factors of absenteeism of students in College of

Industrial Education in terms of :

A. Illness
B. Tardiness
C. Environment
D. Lack of Subject Interest
E. Lack of Confidence

3.) Is there a significant relationship between the independent variables and

dependent variables of absenteeism of students in College of Industrial
Education?

Chapter 1
The Problem and its Background
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.

Chapter 2
Conceptual Framework
This chapter presents the relevant literature and studies that helped
reinforce the stand of this particular research. It also includes the research
framework, hypotheses, and the definition of terms.

Review of Related Literature and Studies

Student absenteeism is a major concern for lecturers at institutions of
higher learning. Absences create a dead, tiresome, unpleasant classroom
environment that makes students who come to class uncomfortable and the
lecturer irritable (Marburger 2001). Absenteeism disturbs the dynamic teachinglearning environment and adversely affects the overall well-being of classes
(Segal 2008).
In quality terms, absenteeism is a waste of educational resources, time
and human potential. Student absenteeism also causes rework and wasted time
for lecturers (Lalek 1995; Rumberger 1997). Lecturers who spend class time reteaching lessons take instructional time away from students who attend class
regularly, and the extra time spent going over absentee homework and class
assignments takes time away from lecturer planning periods and time needed to
provide individual assistance (Weller 1996). When students are absent from
class, they miss valuable information resulting from peer-lecturer interaction and
the benefits of the specific examples lecturers use to clarify difficult concepts.
This valuable part of the learning experience cannot be replicated when lecturers
re-teach the material to absentee students (Weller 1996; Williams 2000). It is

important to note that a primary issue of chronic absenteeism is not that there is
no excuse provided, but rather, the excuse is not a valid one. According to
Williams (2000), students who have absenteeism problems generally suffer
academically and socially. Studies indicate that students who are absent have
lower achievement and may be penalized on test scores (Barker and Jansen
2000). Sustained absences may affect retention as it may degenerate into
truancy (Lotz and Lee 1999; Barker and Jansen 2000). The implications of
absenteeism are felt outside the classroom as well (Williams 2000). Continued
loss of instruction or poor academic achievement among students with high
absenteeism is essential characteristics of students who later drop out of school
(Mayer and Mitchel 1996). Lotz and Lee (1999) indicate that acts of delinquency
are more frequent among students, who exhibit low grades, have spotty
attendance, and later on drop out of school. According to Enomoto (1997),
students who missed class on a given date were significantly more likely to
respond incorrectly to questions relating to material covered that day than
students who were present. The hypothesis that class attendance is likely to be
correlated with student learning has been investigated empirically in economic
education literature. Most surprisingly, most studies have found an inverse
relationship between absenteeism and course performance (Marburger 2001).
The relation between attendance and performance in one large lecture course
suggest that attendance may substantially affect learning. The difference in
performance between a student who attends regularly and one who attends
sporadically is about a full letter grade (Bowen 2005). Lotz and Lee (1999)

corroborate that students cite a negative self-image and low self-esteem as

reasons for non-attendance. According to Enomoto (1997), when students
perceive that lecturers do not care enough to follow up on absences, their
motivation for attendance is not high. Interestingly, a converse view of
compulsory attendance is provided by Lotz and Lee (1999) as contributing to and
furthering the absentee problem. Forcing older students to remain in school when
they are not motivated will only increase their absenteeism (Williams 1999).
Studies indicate that absenteeism is caused by a number of factors such as: lack
of interesting and challenging curriculum; a desire for hedonistic activities with
peers; negative self-image and self-esteem; lack of subject interest; lack of
personal interest in studies; the mental capacity of a student does not match with
the course opted; the poor teaching skills of a lecturer also keep away students
from school; lack of confidence in a lecturer; inadequate relations between a
student and their lecturer and distance to university (Mayer and Mitchell 1996;
Weller 1996; Williams 2000; Marburger 2001). It is, therefore, against
this background that this empirical study sought to investigate the causes and
effects of student absenteeism in three universities in the Republic

http://www.krepublishers.com/02-Journals/JSS/JSS-26-0-000-11-Web/JSS-26-2-000-11Abst-PDF/JSS-26-2-089-11-1143-Wadesango-N/JSS-26-2-089-11-1143-Wadesango-NTt.pdf
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