ABSENTEEISM: ITS EFFECT ON ACADEMIC PERFORMANCE OF SELECTED SHS STUDENTS

Because of the frequent absence of Senior High School students, it affect their Academic

Performance in school

Absenteeism is a habitual pattern of absence from a duty or obligation. Traditionally,

absenteeism has been viewed as an indicator of poor individual performance.

Absenteeism in school is the habit of staying away from school without providing a genuine or

any reason for not attending classes. Absenteeism is a truant behavior that negatively affects

the performance among students.

Absenteeism is caused by many factors as such as 1) Phobic Adolescence: During this stage in

the growth of a teen, there is a lot of fear developed as a result of physical changes of the body

for example growth of pimples, turbulent emotions e.t.c. This scares teens away from school 2)

Lack of Interest: Students could be lacking interest in the study, which could be as a result of

content that is difficult for them to grasp hence pushing them away from school 3) Teacher

approach: The approach used by teachers may not be understood by the student and this could

lead them to lose interest in school. Punitive attendance policy plays a big role in absenteeism

4) Pamperness from the family: Students who get excessive pocket money from their families

are most likely to absent themselves from school since they need time to spend the money 5)

Private Couching: Flexible private couching encouraged by some parents could drive a number

of students away from the conventional school timetable 6) Diseases: Some diseases like

asthma which requires attention and care as well as an environment that is warm and not dusty

could make students remain home 7) School Infrastructural Facilities: Lack of libraries, sports
facilities is a hindrance to attendance of school among students 8) Entertainment: Accessibility

of entertainment facilities like cinemas could divert attention of some students from school

Absenteeism can lead to depression and also result in poor quality of education as a result of

time lost while being away from school. It could also lead to moral degradation that leads to

drug abuse, early pregnancies and unruly behavior.

Absenteeism can be remedied by providing adequate co-curricular activities to students. It

could be curbed by creating of clubs and societies to keep students busy when they are out of

class. Schools should strive to have up to date learning facilities like libraries as well as sporting

facilities to make students enhance student retention.

Developing the habit of being early in classes, meetings, programs and conference can

give something that is worthy in time. Students should be made to realize that tardiness can

totally destroy their time and concentration. Almost one half of the students can no longer

attend the flag ceremony, though attendance is a must. The flag ceremony is done during

Monday to Friday and is usually followed by announcement and updates. And as a result of

being tardy, many of the students miss the announcements. When a student comes to school

late, it causes him/her to get off to bad start and disrupts the classroom.

These behaviors are barometer indicating the likehood of students success. Many

school interventions to improve student performances use tardiness and absences as indicators

to success or failure of the intervention.

Perhaps not knowing about or trusting this model and underestimating the power of

grades to predict school behavior, some schools try to tackle the problem of tardiness and

absences head-on. Chronically tardy students might get administrative detention. Schools
create policies intended to reduce absences or create more accurate tracking

system. Many researchers have developed checklist of deviant school behaviors which

are associated with poor school performance. Irregular attendance and frequent tardiness were

two of the five drop out indicators.

Student absenteeism is a major concern for elementary and secondary school educators.

The effects of absenteeism show that it hurts both students' academic achievement and the

school, where it can cause time loss and morale problems. Absenteeism has many causes and

effects.

The causes of absenteeism of students are according to were the following; Lack

of subject interest, lack of personal interest in studies, available opportunities for entertainment

like malls, movie halls etc., the mental capacity of a students does not match with the course

opted, Too much pamperness from family, the poor teaching skills of a teacher also keep away

student from the school, lack of confidence ,ragging also cause absenteeism , lack of allied

activities also causes absenteeism like no sports program, no fresher or farewell parties ,no

annual day celebration etc, poor food of canteen may also be considered as one of the reasons

for absenteeism and poor infrastructure facility in school such as no place in a library to sit is

also one of the reason of absenteeism.

Excess of homework and sometimes fear from examination keep away students from school.

Preparation for the participation in TV shows in dance musical or acting,G.K. contest programs

also increase the percentage of absenteeism. Preparation for examination causes absenteeism.

Over expectation of parents also deteriorate the attendance of a student when she/he is unable

to cope with parent nature of making comparison among their own children of with the friends

of their child. Too much socialization causes absenteeism. It mostly happens during teen age

and college when the students form a group to freak out. When more than desired facilities are
provided by parents such as CAR, Mobiles, and High Amount of Money as Pocket Money the

student start enjoying those facilities and become absent. Inferiority complex within student

causes absenteeism.

Student absenteeism and its effect on academic performance concerns all stakeholders in

education. Schools in Nyandarua County have recorded high levels of absenteeism in their

institutions. This study aimed at establishing the effect of absenteeism on academic

performance of secondary school students in Nyandarua County Kenya. The target population

of the study was 3,763 students from mixed public secondary schools. All hypotheses were

tested at 95% significance level. The results indicated that student absenteeism affected

academic performance and that the level of student absenteeism mattered in academic

performance. It was found out that the main cause of student.

Student absenteeism and its effect on academic performance concerns all stakeholders in

education. Schools in Nyandarua County have recorded high levels of absenteeism in their

institutions. This study aimed at establishing the effect of absenteeism on academic

performance of secondary school students in Nyandarua County Kenya. The target population

of the study was 3,763 students from mixed public secondary schools. All hypotheses were

tested at 95% significance level. The results indicated that student absenteeism affected

academic performance and that the level of student absenteeism mattered in academic

performance. It was found out that the main cause of student absenteeism was lack of school

fees. The study also observed that many student counsellors did not treat student absenteeism

as a problem requiring their intervention. The study further indicated that student age did not

affect absenteeism and self-study habits of chronic absentees did not significantly affect their
academic performance. Among the recommendations the study made included; provision of

universal and free or affordable secondary education in Kenya.

Education Week recently came out with an article, "School Absences Translate to Lower Test

Scores, Study Says". One of the first comments on the article was "Really? We need a study to

show a link between absences and achievement". This is followed by "Another obvious

finding..., A wise man once said that data that is easy to gather is meaningless". And then,

"Duh!" The article related the following important findings from the study:

"Three days, if you multiply that out by nine months, is five weeks a year," Mr. Ginsburg said.

"You've got more than a quarter of the below-basic kids who are going to miss five weeks of

school a year or more," he said, noting that only 8 percent of students at the advanced level

had missed that much school. "That, to me, would be something that if you are a chief state

school officer or a superintendent, you might worry about."

The study showed that being absent for three days in a month strongly correlates with poor

performance. As educators, it is important to know the threshold. Drawing policies on school

intervention regarding absenteeism requires guiding information on where to draw the line.

Policies cannot be simply drawn out of thin air. Three days in a month, that number, a result of

research, is a useful guide for teachers and school administrators. The study as described by

the article is only an initial analysis of the data. Ongoing research will continue to unravel

further the underlying factors that result into absenteeism. This is an important task since this

information likewise is necessary to design the interventions that are relevant.

Research on Student and Pupil Absenteeism in SchoolCauses, findings and recommendations on

absenteeism among studentsOne of the most annoying, if unavoidable experiences of teachers

like me is dealing with studentabsenteeism. We prepare lesson

plans with the objective that 100% of the class will learn from the days

classroom activities. And it is most satisfying when all students are present on that day and the

daysthereafter to ensure maximum learning.Sadly, it is very difficult to achieve a perfect

attendance among my students.No matter how interestingand 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 publicschools. We

all know that almost half or maybe majority of our students come from poverty-strickenfamilies

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 moreaccurate analysis of why some of my students are perennial absentees. This would

help me formulateplans, projects and programs to minimize their absences. I hope that it would

also enlighten you, thereaders. Even if you may not be part of the school system, who knows,

you might be of help in one wayor another to solve student absenteeism.Causes of

Absenteeism among the Grade VI Students of Zapote Elementary School School Year 2010-

2011AbstractStudent absenteeism is a perennial problem of all teachers. Every curriculum year,

it is one of theproblems that they have to contend to. It is not only the teachers who are

concerned with this problembut the school administrators as well.This action research examined

the causes of absenteeism of the Grade VI students of Zapote ElementarySchool for the school

year 2010-2011. When they were in Grade V, they were the class which has themost number of
absentees every day. This was gathered from the data contained in the dailyattendance record

being passed around and kept by the teacher-

leaders office every day 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 hasthe 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.

Limited Educational Instruction

It is crucial to the success of any school to employ dedicated teachers who are physically

present to administer quality education to each student. Excessive absenteeism by the teaching

staff can drastically hinder the learning environment and academic achievement of students

when instructors are not routinely present to teach them. When teachers are absent, schools

must rely on substitute teachers to provide instruction for the students. However, many

substitute teachers may not be qualified to provide quality educational instruction. Substitute

teachers are not always required to possess a teaching certification, and in some school districts

they are able to teach with only a high school GED. The loss of quality instructional time for

students can result in unlearned academic skills and objectives, and subsequent reduction in

students' standardized test scores.

Poor Academic Progress

Successful schools cannot survive without physically present students. According to the

"Excessive Absences Intervention" research study by author Linda L. Williams, excessive

absenteeism by students may result in unlearned course material from fewer hours of

instruction, and a disruption of class instruction for teachers who have to administer
remediation for the absent student when he returns to school. Excessive absenteeism by

students may additionally result in poor academic achievement because students are not

receiving instruction on a consecutive basis. This problem also causes low standardized test

scores because absent students are not present to learn key concepts and skills that are

assessed on standardized exams.

Future Problems

Excessive student absenteeism can lead to an increasing disinterest in school and academics in

general. According to author Jason A. Schoenebergers "Longitudinal Attendance Patterns"

study, excessive absenteeism increases the chances of a student eventually dropping out of

school, which can lead to long term consequences for these students, such as lower average

incomes, higher incidences of unemployment, and a higher likelihood of incarceration.

Schoeneberger asserts that students who drop out of school face a higher risk of poverty

because of their inability to secure quality paying employment due to their lack of education

and resources. Dropouts who lack education and resources are more likely to commit criminal

activity leading to incarceration.

Decreased School Budget

Excessive absenteeism also places an extreme strain on the school's budget, and allocated

finances in each school district. Average daily attendance, or ADA, is the average attendance

rate of students in a school year. States utilize a school district's ADA to determine the allocated

funding it will receive. Schools may encounter a decrease in funding due to a loss of full-time

students. This limited budget due to excessive absences causes a lack of educational resources

and materials for the all the students in the school. According to "USA Today," about one in

three teachers misses more than 10 days of school each year in the public school system.
Providing substitutes for all of these absent teachers costs schools, cumulatively, at least $4

billion a year. "USA Today" further reported that in some states nearly 50 percent of the

teachers miss more than 10 days of school in a typical 180-day school year.

University teaching in the UK is typically based on large-group lectures supplemented by small-

group classes. Since classes are costly, it is worth asking if they make a real difference to

student performance. To explore this question, Wiji Arulampalam, Robin

Naylor and Jeremy Smith have looked at a group of economics undergraduates.

Lectures are an efficient way to deliver a large quantity of complex information to university

students. But classes, which are traditionally thought to be crucial for reinforcing this material

and exploring it in greater depth, lack the returns to scale of lectures and are therefore

relatively costly. Since some of their functions are also potential substitutes for private study, it

is worth trying to assess their effectiveness.

To evaluate the benefits of small-group tuition, we conducted an experiment with second-year

undergraduates in a leading UK economics department. The students were randomly assigned

to classes for each of their three compulsory papers: microeconomics, macroeconomics and

econometrics. With 444 students over three cohorts (students starting their second year in

2004, 2005 and 2006) in each module, we have data consisting of 1,332 observations.

We analyse these data to find out, first, what determines students decisions about whether to

attend class, and second, the effect of absence from class on their performance in each

module. Addressing the second question requires correcting for the influence of factors such as

ability and effort on both absence and performance.

Missing class has an adverse effect on performance only for more able students
Although attendance at lectures tends to be seen as optional, attendance at classes is regarded

as compulsory in part because it is more easily monitored. In practice, student absenteeism

from classes is often a problem. It is this absenteeism that leads to variation in class attendance

and allows us to establish the effect of classes on attainment. Tutors used an online class

register to record attendance, which made it easier to compile the data accurately.

Our analysis reveals that students tend to conform to their stereotype: morning classes have

higher rates of absenteeism than afternoon classes, with classes that start at 9 o'clock proving

especially problematic. We also find that female students miss fewer classes than male

students, and overseas students miss more classes than home (European Union) students. And

students who have performed well in their first year tend to have lower absenteeism rates in

their second year.

Morning classes, notably 9 o'clock starts, have higher rates of absenteeism than afternoon

classes

What about the effect of absence on student performance? We find that missing class has an

adverse effect, but only for high ability students: missing 10% of classes is associated with a

1-2 percentage point lower mark for this group of students. There seems to be no effect of

missing class for lower ability students.

Our results suggest that class attendance is a productive activity: the effect of missing class on

performance is negative, at least for the more able students. This suggests that there is no

over-provision of classes and that compulsory attendance is worthwhile.

The fact that missing class is costly for more able students suggests that classes are more

productive for these students. In view of this, it might be appropriate to reflect on how the

effectiveness of class teaching and learning can be enhanced for weaker students. Alternatively,
additional voluntary classes might be organised for more able students given that, for them,

absence is low and the returns are relatively high.

References:

Richard, Maina Kaina ( March 2012) Student Absenteeism, Causes and Effect on Academic

Performance: Case of Secondary Schools in Ol-Kalou, Nyandarua County: Kenya Paperback

Timothy, Keter C. (2002) Community Relations Coordinator

Torres, Gina L. (2004) CAUSES OF ABSENTEEISM AND TARDINESS AMONG STUDENTS

Wanga, Dolphine A. (2001) Attendance Works: Advancing Student Success by Reducing Chronic

Absence

Walters, Malikah (1998) The Effects of Excessive Absenteeism in Schools Class attendance: The

Impact on Students' Performance

Yabis, Rommel (2005) Action Research on Student and Pupil Absenteeism in School