THE EFFECT OF PROVIDING INCENTIVE POINTS TO THE TARDINESS AND

ABSENTEEISM OF STUDENTS IN THE UNIVERSITY OF THE VISAYAS

Introduction

As defined by the Merriam-Webster Dictionary, tardiness if the quantity or state of being

late. Meanwhile, absenteeism is the practice of regularly staying away from work or school
without good reason. In many schools, especially here in the Philippines, tardiness and
absenteeism are big issues. It might be viewed as a personal risk for bad conduct in the future
that could result in dropping out of school, social isolation, and subsequent health issues (Warne
et al., 2020).
There are several implications caused by tardiness and absenteeism. The classroom's
natural flow is disturbed when students arrive late. Instructors might have to take a break to
make up for it, which could hinder other students' learning opportunities. Students that arrive late
frequently overlook crucial directives, notifications, or the start of a class. They might be less
ready for homework, tests, and quizzes as a result. Most importantly, being on time is a crucial
component of professionalism and accountability. Being late to class on a regular basis can give
a student a bad impression of their work ethic and character. Both the teacher and the student
may experience tension and anxiety as a result of persistent tardiness. Teachers or instructors
may feel under pressure to make accommodations for latecomers while still covering all needed
material, and students may feel overburdened attempting to make up for lost time.
One of the main reasons of tardiness and absenteeism is the time management, especially
on classes that start early. Some students have trouble efficiently managing their time because
they underestimate how long it takes to get dressed and commute to school, oversleep, or
procrastinate. Students may be late or absent to class due to family responsibilities, such as
watching over younger siblings or helping out around the house. Delays caused by traffic jams,
delayed public transportation, or mechanical problems with transportations can affect students
who depend on public transportation and increase their tardiness.
Addressing tardiness and absenteeism as serious issues is important. A study by
Caldarella et al. (2011) looked at decreasing tardiness in primary school-aged students using
teacher-written praise notes. As one particular positive reinforcement technique that the authors
recommend, praise has been shown to be successful in resolving troublesome behavior. A review
by Freeman et al. (2018) review discovered that skill development, community and family
support, and incentive-based tactics are the most often used and successful interventions.
External incentives to reward behavior, like attendance, are generally effective but seem to have
short-term impacts Freeman et al. (2018). Examples of these incentives include points or
monetary prizes.
This study aims to determine the results of providing incentives, specifically additional
points, to students who are not late in the class. The following hypothesis will be tested:
 HO: There is no significant difference in the tardiness and absenteeism of students after
providing incentives for those who are on time in class.
HA: There is a significant difference in the tardiness and absenteeism of students after
providing incentives for those who are on time in class.

Methodology

As mentioned before, time management is one of the main causes of tardiness. Using
convenience sampling, the chosen sample in this study are the freshmen from the BS in Civil
Engineering A2 (BSCE1A2), as their class starts at 8:00 am. The sample chosen will represent
the entire population of the entire University of the Visayas (UV). UV has a population of 5600
students according to the university’s registrar.
The Physics class of BSCE1A2 every Monday and Wednesday starts at 8:00 am, which
was the choses timeslot for the study to be conducted. The section is consisted of forty-eight (48)
students, twenty-nine (29) male and twenty-one (21) female.
For this study, the percentage of late students will be determined for two (2) weeks. After
two (2) weeks, the Physics instructor will announce that he will provide five (5) bonus points if a
student will not be late in the class. The percentage of the late students will be once again
determined.
Based on the given settings, the study will make use of a paired z-test. Moreover, the
hypothesis will be tested using a one-tail test with a 95% confidence interval.

Results and Discussion

During the first two weeks of the study where there is no incentives given to students
who are on time and present, the percentages of the late and absent students were determined as
shown in Table 1.

Table 1. Percentages of late and absent students on the first week (without incentives).
NO. OF NO. OF COMBINED NO. OF % OF
WEEK DAY LATE ABSENT LATE AND STUDENTS ABSENT
STUDENTS STUDENTS ABSENT IN CLASS & LATE
Week Monday 10 3 13 48 27.08%
1 Wednesday 7 2 9 48 18.75%
Week Monday 9 4 13 48 27.08%
2 Wednesday 8 2 10 48 20.83%
AVERAGE 23.435%
 Based on the first week, the average or mean of the percentage of the students that are
late and absent is 23.475% ± 4.208 (using 95% confidence interval) with a sample standard
deviation of 4.294.
After announcing that there will be incentives for those who are on time and present, the
percentages of the late and absent students were determined once again after two week which are
shown in Table 2.

Table 2. Percentages of late and absent students on the first week (with incentives).
NO. OF NO. OF COMBINED NO. OF % OF
WEEK DAY LATE ABSENT LATE AND STUDENTS ABSENT
STUDENTS STUDENTS ABSENT IN CLASS & LATE
Week Monday 3 0 3 48 6.25%
1 Wednesday 1 1 1 48 2.08%
Week Monday 2 1 3 48 6.25%
2 Wednesday 0 0 0 48 0%
AVERAGE 3.645%

Based on the second week results, the average or mean of the percentage of the students
that are late and absent fell down to 3.645 ± 3.063 (using 95% confidence interval) with a sample
standard deviation of 3.126.
Using the z-test for comparing two means, the critical z value was computed as:
𝑥1 − 𝑥2
𝑧𝑐 =
𝑠1 2 𝑠2 2
+
𝑛1 𝑛2
23.475 − 3.645
𝑧𝑐 =
4.2942 3.1262
+
4 4
𝑧𝑐 = 7.467

Using the z-table for one tail test, for 95% confidence interval, we can determine that the
rejection region is at the 1.96 onwards region as shown in Figure 1. The critical z value was
found to be 7.467 which is inside the rejection region. Therefore, the null hypothesis is rejected.

1.96 7.467
Figure 1. Rejection region for one-tail z-test.
Conclusions

Based on the result of the study, the critical z value was found to be inside the rejection
region concluding that the null hypothesis should be rejected and the alternative hypothesis
should be accepted. Therefore, there is a significant difference in the tardiness and absenteeism
of students after providing incentives for those who are on time in class. Results have shown
positive results on the first two weeks of the incentives program. However, as per Freeman et al.
(2018), external incentives to reward behavior, like attendance, are generally effective but seem
to have short-term impacts. The long term effects of this program should be further investigated
in future studies.
References:

Caldarella, P., Shatzer, R. H., Gray, K. M., Young, K. R., & Young, E. L. (2011). The effects of
school-wide positive behavior support on middle school climate and student outcomes.
RMLE Online, 35(4), 1–14. https://doi.org/10.1080/19404476.2011.11462087

Freeman, J. L., Wilkinson, S., Kowitt, J., Kittelman, A., & Flannery, K. B. (2018). Research-
supported practices for improving attendance in high schools: a review of the literature.
Educational Research and Evaluation, 24(8), 481–503.
https://doi.org/10.1080/13803611.2019.1602546

Warne, M., Svensson, Å., Tirén, L., & Wall, E. (2020). On Time: A Qualitative Study of
Swedish Students’, Parents’ and Teachers’ Views on School Attendance, with a Focus on
Tardiness. International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health (Online),
17(4), 1430. https://doi.org/10.3390/ijerph17041430
APPENDICES

Appendix A. Sample Questionnaire (if applicable)

Appendix B. Data Gathering (photos)

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