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https://owlcation.com/academia/action-research-on-student-absenteeism

Research on Student and Pupil

Absenteeism in School
Updated on November 10, 2015

The Problem of Student Absenteeism

One of the most annoying experiences for teachers like me is when students are absent. We prepare lesson plans
with the objective that 100% of the class will learn from the day’s 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 perfect attendance. No matter how interesting and well-prepared my lessons and
teaching materials are, there are bound to be students who miss out on the day’s activities—willingly or unwillingly.

I would like to minimize this problem, if not eradicate it completely. That is why I conducted an action research to
understand them better. I wanted a more accurate analysis of why some of my students are perennial absentees, so I
could formulate plans, projects, and programs to minimize their absences. I hope that it also enlightens you. Even if
you are not an educator, you may be able to help a student to stay in school.

Causes of Absenteeism
Grade VI Students of Zapote Elementary School School Year 2010-2011

According to Merriam-Webster dictionary, absenteeism is "chronic absence." In the context of school, it is the habitual
or intentional failure to attend school. While every student may miss some school activities now and then, absence
becomes a problem when the student is away from school for many days.

Going to school regularly is crucially important for a student’s education and social skills. Chronically absent students
are at a disadvantage both socially and academically. They miss out on critical stages of social interaction and
development with their peers, while simultaneously limiting their academic progress. This can result in 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, society in general, and pupils in
particular. Unaccepted absences have a negative effect on peer relationships, which can cause further absences.
According to Malcolm, Wilson, Davidson and Kirk (2003) teachers identified the effects of absenteeism on children
as:

 academic under-achievement.
 difficulty in making friends which could lead to boredom and loss of confidence.
 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 teacher’s ability to present classwork in a sequential and organized way. This can have
an effect on the progress of all the students in the class.

Families of habitually absent students 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.

Society also suffers when school-age children are not in school. These children may hang out on the streets. Since
they have nothing to do, they resort to petty crimes like stealing other people’s belongings and property. Others may
become addicted to drugs or engage in other destructive behavior. Thus, if a student keeps away from school for too
long, he may grow up to be a liability to his community and 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 of truancy. Once they are singled out, understood, and analyzed, these issues may
be addressed with specific actions and measures. This will eventually result in 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.

This action research examined the causes of absenteeism among grade VI students of Zapote Elementary School
during the 2010-2011 school year. This class had the most daily absences while in grade V. This data was gathered
from the daily attendance record that is kept by the teacher-leader’s office every day and regularly filled out by grade
level teachers.

Once the students entered grade VI, some of them were still frequent absentees. It is for this reason that this
research was undertaken. It has the goal of understanding and correcting such undesirable pupil behavior. Based on
the findings, methods and strategies were recommended to minimize, if not eradicate absenteeism or truancy.

Scope and Methodology

All of the sixty grade VI pupils were asked to complete a questionnaire. They rated various situations, reasons, and
causes for being absent from school.

All the the data was then 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 were analyzed using a five-point Likert scale with the following equivalent:

 1. never
 2. rarely
 3. sometimes
 4. very often
 5. always
It should be noted that the questionnaire was given to students in their native dialect to increase the chance of
accurate responses.

Figures were rounded 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.

Study Questionnaire: What Are the Most

Common Causes of Absenteeism?
Teacher-Related Classroom
Physical Factors Personal attitude Home Factors
Reasons Environment
house is too far from I am not interested in My teacher scolded Our classroom is hot My parents told me
school my studies. me. and uncomfortable. to be absent.
I can't understand
it is unsafe to go to It's noisy in our My parents
I feel lazy. my teacher's
school classroom. quarreled.
lessons.
no one accompanies My parents don't
My friends tell me to I don't like my Classmates bully
me to school care about my
be absent. teacher. me.
because of distance studies.
health factors
(toothache, stomach I can't concentrate I have no friends in I do too many
 
ache, headache, on my studies my class. household chores.
fever/flu, diarrhea
I have no money to
I didn't wake up in I didn't wake up in
    buy snacks at
time. time.
school.
I did not study or do We have no food. I I did not study or do
   
my homework. did not eat. my homework.
I was playing
computer games.

Findings
A. Physical Factors

Among the items cited, the distance of their house to the school and the danger posed by walking to the school has
the same response average, or a mean of 1.04. This means that both are not reasons for them to be absent from
school.

B. Health

Fever/flu is the most common reason of students for being absent. It has the highest response average of 2.4. It is
followed by headache, with an average response of 1.67. Other diseases like diarrhea come in third with 1.61
average responses. The least common reason for them for being absent is stomach ache, with 1.39 averages.

C. Personal Attitude

That the student doesn’t wake up early enough is the most common reason why he/she is absent. This account for
1.91 mean. Another reason commonly cited is that they can’t concentrate on their studies and that they were not able
to study their lessons. This resulted from 1.45 and 1.37 mean respectively. Feeling lazy and playing computer games
also keep them away from school. The former has a response average of 1.26 while the latter has 1.22.

D. Teacher-related

When the students are scolded for their bad behavior by the teacher, this tends to make them be absent from their
classes. It has the highest average response of 1.38 while the reason that they can’t understand their lessons follow
close behind with 1.32 mean.

E. Classroom Atmosphere

The highest mean of 1.77 was accorded to noise inside the classroom which means that this is the primary reason
why they tend to be truant. Bullying by fellow students follows with 1.39 response average.

F. Home-related

Students who say their parents asked them to be absent resulted in the highest mean of 1.52. Household chores
come second with a response average of 1.47. The other reasons ranged from 1.08 to 1.39, including not having
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 by the responding students.
 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.
Of all the factors/categories cited, the top 10 reasons of student absenteeism are as follows:

1) Flu/fever

2) Can’t wake up early

3) Noise inside the classroom

4) Headache

5) Other diseases such as diarrhea

6) Parents asking them to be absent

7) Preoccupation with household chores

8.3) Toothache

8.3) No money to buy snacks in school

8.3) Bullied by a classmate/classmates

Frequency of Responses
Very
Alway Sometimes Rarely Never
  Ofte
s (5) (3) (2) (1)
n (4)

A. Physical Factor          

1. Our house is far

0 0 1 0 59
from the school.

2. It is unsafe to go to
0 0 1 0 59
school.

3. Nobody
accompanies me in
0 0 0 0 60
going to school since
it is far.

B. Health          

1. I have a toothache. 0 2 8 4 46

2. My stomach hurts. 0 0 10 4 46

3. I have a headache 0 1 14 9 36

4. I'm down with

0 5 22 25 8
fever/flu.

5. I have other 0 1 9 15 35
 Very
Alway Sometimes Rarely Never
  Ofte
s (5) (3) (2) (1)
n (4)

diseases like
diarrhea, etc.

C.Personal Attitude          

1. I am not interested
0 0 0 0 60
in my studies.

2. I feel lazy. 0 0 5 6 49

3. My friends
influence me to be
0 0 2 1 57
absent from my
classes.

4. I can't concentrate
0 0 9 9 42
in my studies.

5. I didn't wake up
0 5 16 8 31
early.

6. I did not
study/make my
0 2 5 7 46
assignments the night
before.

7. I got fond of
playing computer 0 1 5 0 54
games.

D. Teacher-Related
         
Factors

1. My teacher
0 1 6 7 46
scolded me.

2. I can't understand 0 0 7 5 48
 Very
Alway Sometimes Rarely Never
  Ofte
s (5) (3) (2) (1)
n (4)

my teacher's lessons.

3. I don't like my
0 0 0 0 60
teacher.

E. Classroom
         
atmosphere

1.Our classroom is
hot and 0 0 4 1 55
uncomfortable.

2. It's noisy inside our

4 5 6 3 42
classroom.

3. A
classmate/classmates 0 1 8 4 47
bully me.

4. I have no friends in
0 0 0 0 60
our class.

F. Home-Related
         
Factors

1. My parents ask me
to be absent from 0 0 10 11 39
class.

2. My parents
0 0 2 1 57
quarreled.

3. My parents don't
care about my 0 0 1 1 58
studies.
 Very
Alway Sometimes Rarely Never
  Ofte
s (5) (3) (2) (1)
n (4)

4. I'm too pre-

occupied with 1 3 5 5 47
household chores.

5. I have no money to
0 1 8 4 47
buy snacks in school.

6. We have no food/I
0 0 7 4 59
did not eat.

What Strategies Can Minimize or Eradicate Absenteeism?

In order to limit or eliminate absenteeism, it is recommended that educators:

1. educate the students on how to take care of their overall well-being.Emphasis should be given to oral
health and overall body wellness. Teach them how to avoid communicable diseases. 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. ensure that classroom atmosphere is conducive to learning. Noise-reduction among students should be
a priority. Older children, like grade VI students, tend to have louder voices so they should be taught 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 noise is modulated so as
not to distract pupils from their learning.
3. inform parents about the benefit of keeping their children in school.Emphasize to them that if they
keep on asking their children to be absent, this will set a bad example to the child. If the parents themselves are
keeping the child away from school, they must believe that household concerns are more important than their
education.
4. refrain from scolding misbehaving 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. 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.
6. emphasize that academic success is very much dependent on student 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 get an alarm clock. Do not scold the pupils who come late. Give them a time-table
to change their sleeping habits and to study before bed instead of watching TV.

The researchers distributed a questionnaire, as adopted from the study of Medrazo, et.al. 2013
13TARDINESS AND ABSENTEEISM OF IV-DIAMOND STUDENTS: BASIS IN DEVELOPING ATTENDANCE
MANAGEMENT PROGRAM

MARIA NOVA D. ESTACION and RHEA MAY M. DELA CRUZ

Isulan National High School

Abstract

Introduction

Attendance in school is important because students are more likely to succeed in academics
when they attend school consistently (Pascopella, 2007). It is difficult for teachers and students to build
skills and progress if large numbers of students are frequently absent. In addition to falling behind in
academics, students who are not in school on a regular basis are more likely to get into trouble with the
law and cause problem in their communities (Hocking, 2008).

One of the sections in the fourth year of Isulan National High School is the IV-Diamond having a
total population of 59 students. Based on their daily attendance record, an average of 3 out of 59
students is absent or tardy.

The purpose of this study was to determine the factors affecting the tardiness and absenteeism
of the IV-Diamond students and to determine the intervention that would remediate these problems.

Method

This study employed Descriptive-survey that will determine the factors affecting the habitual
tardiness and absenteeism of the fourth year high school students of IV-Diamond. This will also
determine the intervention as perceived by the students.

The researchers distributed a questionnaire, as adopted from the study of Medrazo, et.al. 2013,
to the students of the IV-Diamond students to determine the factors affecting their tardiness and
absenteeism and their perceived intervention.

Results and Discussions

On Being Tardy
Results of the study revealed that most of the students get to school late of at least once a month
because of sleeping late at night and waking up late. Forty-none percent (41%) of them were aware that
they can’t cope up with the lesson if they are always late in going to school while thirty-four (34%) have
various answers such as getting low grades, missed quizzes and low participation. On the other hand,
fifteen percent (15%) of them were aware that it can lead to suspension/warning due to loitering; and,
still, ten percent (10%) were aware that they cannot attend the first subject in the morning.

Corollary, the students also believed that if they can overcome tardiness by being responsible in
their daily life such as avoiding sleeping late at night and by attending programs that focuses on
overcoming tardiness.

On Being Absent

Results showed that many students were absent from school for more than three times in a
month because of sickness, by doing household chores, and waking up late.

Consequently, majority of the students believed that being absent from school enabled them to
miss quizzes, seat works, and assignments. Some of them also believed that they can’t cope with the
missed lesson and a few believed that they will have low or failing grades.

Stidents beleieved that they can overcome absenteeism if they will be responsible and apply it
in daily life and an agreement to avoid sleeping late at night.

The result implies that the students are aware that it only needs to be responsible in order to
avoid absenteeism.

Students also perceived that they need attendance management program to remediate their problem
on tardiness and absenteeism; needs program on how to be responsible in school; find appropriate
solution to overcome absenteeism and tardiness.

The result implies that the students are also aware of what they need in order to overcome their
problem on tardiness and absenteeism.

Conclusions

Based on the findings the following conclusions are drawn.

1. Forty-nine percent, 49%, of the students come to school late once a month.

2. Forty-six percent, 46%, of the students get to school late because they wake up late.

3. Forty-one percent, 41%, of the students are aware that they can’t cope up with the lesson if
they are always late in going to school.
4. Forty-six percent, 46%, of the students believed that if they can overcome tardiness by being
responsible in their daily life.

5. Seventy-six percent, 76%, of the students agreed that tardiness is equal to laziness.

6. Forty-nine percent, 49%, of the students are being absent at schools once a month

7. Fifty-six percent, 56%, of the students are being absent to school because of sickness.

8. Fifty-one percent, 51%, of the students believed that being absent at school consequently miss
quizzes/seatwork’s/assignments.

9. Forty-six percent, 46%, of the students believed that they can overcome absenteeism if they will
be responsible and apply it in daily life.

10. Forty-four percent, 44%, of the students perceived that they need attendance management
program to remediate their problem in tardiness and absenteeism.

Recommendations

Based on the findings and conclusions drawn, the researchers would like to recommend the
following implementations for practice.

1. Since the students have realized that being absent or late in school they will miss
quizzes/assignments/seat works, thus he/she should give daily quizzes/assignments/seat works.

2. Since the students identified the attendance management program to be effective in

remediating the problem of excessive tardiness and absenteeism, thus the teacher should design and
develop a matrix of Attendance Management Program to be implemented and practiced during the
remaining grading periods.

References