I.

SITUATION OF THE STUDY

For the school to produce competitive and well – rounded individuals, there will always be

a room for improvement of the curriculum. There is that need to monitor and evaluate how the

interaction happens in order to be successful.

Since 2009, a program or a different curriculum had been launched in Santiago City

National High School, aside from the Basic Education Curriculum and the recently launched

Special Program in the Arts and Design (SPAD), referred to as the Special Science Curriculum

whereas the lessons are more advanced in a way that a lot of focus is being given to the students

belonging to the said curriculum and some of the basic subjects considered to be obsolete were

replaced by advanced ones that are essential in the higher level of education.

Absenteeism is a major problem confronting organizations worldwide. It causes severe

hardships to colleagues, usually resulting in the loss of productive hours for the organization and

hindering it from achieving overall corporate objectives. Absenteeism is very costly since

organizations are required to compensate absent workers for services with no corresponding

output. Student engagement in school curriculum is critical for successful learning. Even as school

districts work hard to develop the right course programs, collaborative teaching methods maximize

the effectiveness of classroom education. Educator absenteeism, therefore, can disrupt the

continuity of studies and stability that students need to succeed.

There are many reasons one could advance for teacher absenteeism. Some may be

unavoidable whilst others avoidable. Whatever reasons teachers may advance for their absence,
undoubtedly, absenteeism creates tremendous hardships for teacher colleagues and student

learning, hinders improvements, and productivity in our nations’ schools

Student’s class participation becomes affected due to absenteeism. The effects of

absenteeism in class participation, miss the chance to become a part in class participate, can’t raise

questions about any confusion regarding topics. Can’t clear the concepts, Poor participation in

tutorial discussion; miss the chance of small group discussion within the class. They neglect much

value able information which students can gain in class.

It leads to poor coordination with teachers, poor coordination with their class mates in their

group studies. Also affect the performance of students especially when they are in a teamwork or

group assignments and projects. Unable to update for their assignments, unable to take the

guideline about preparing the assignments, absenteeism leads the students to drop out graded

activities. Poor performances in class quiz which lead to poor grades. Unable to prepare and the

assignments on due dates which badly effect the grade of students. Poor performance during exams

leads to poor grade that’s why they must repeat the session or drop out from the university. This

means that students that miss their class will not have the opportunity to foster their learning and

often compensated with poor grades.

When teachers absent themselves from school frequently it leaves pupils to go unattended.

Moreover, absenteeism by teachers reduces the amount of instructional time and this result in the

syllabi not being completed. This in return results in lower output of work by the pupils (Ubogu,

2004). According to Bray and Percy (2003), teacher absenteeism has a wide and influential effect

a country’s educational system. High levels of absenteeism negatively impact student

achievement, tarnishes the school reputation, contributes to the decline of the profession and

precipitates in turn student absenteeism. A report by UWEZO (2011), points out that widespread
teacher absenteeism is generally acknowledged as a major obstacle to the effective and sustainable

improvements of the country’s education system. The report concludes that with high rates of

teacher absenteeism, it is difficult for children to learn consistently and to build on their skills

throughout the school year.

Lens and De Jesus (1999) argue that teachers absent themselves as a result of wanting to

leave the profession, when it becomes unattractive to them. The causes of absenteeism are many

and include: stress, lack of job satisfaction, boredom on the job, serious accidents and illness, low

morale, poor working conditions, excessive workload, transportation problems, inadequate

leadership and poor supervision, poor physical fitness, inadequate nutrition, personal problems

(financial, marital, substance abuse, childcare eldercare etc.), the availability of income protection

plans (collective agreement 2 provisions which continue income during period of illness or

accident), employee discontent with a collective bargaining process and / or its results.

Considering the immense hardships brought about by teacher absenteeism, it is critical to

get a deeper understanding of the issues surrounding its causes and likely impact on student

learning with a view to address the problem.