I.
CAUSES OF STUDENT could lead to boredom, loss of
ABSENTEEISM IN SCHOOL
II. INTRODUCTION
Absenteeism, according to our
interview. 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 student’s 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
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
teacher’s 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 people’s
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.
I. REVIEW OF LITERATURE
Causes of Absenteeism from the
Schools at Secondary Level
All secondary level students’ of
district Bannu constituted population
of the study.100 students who
frequently remained absent from the
schools were conveniently selected
as a sample of the study.
Percentages have been used as
statistical technique to analyze the
data. Results of the study showed
that most frequent causes of the
absence of the students from the
schools were their families’
participation in social activities,
students help their parents in their
work, too much home work and too
many tests and examinations.
It was recommended that by the
care and concentration of parents,
children can be encouraged to go to
school. Availability of the school
building, furniture, adequate
libraries and clean and healthy
environment,
introducing modern methods and
techniques, keeping in view the
interests and needs of the children,
providing financial aid to the
students who are unable to afford
the educational expenses, teachers’
sympathetic attitude are factors
which can motivate and attract
students towards schools.
Student Absenteeism – What’s
the Problem – and the Answer?
Student absenteeism is a serious
issue in public education. Concerted
efforts have been expended aimed at
engaging students and promoting
active learning, but schools are still
full of “clock-watchers” Many high
schoolers regularly skip classes and,
according to some inside reports,
“the hallways are virtually empty
some Friday afternoons.”
A recent report, commissioned by
the Nova Scotia Education
Department, bravely tackles the
chronic issue. The advisory
committee, chaired by Howard
Windsor, Halifax’s former “one-man
school board,” recommends
extending compulsory school
attendance to age 18/Grade 12 and a
series of “staged interventions” for
chronic “skippers” and truants.
Along with those measures, the
committee proposes a range of
inducements to keep students in
school. In extending schooling to 18,
Nova Scotia would be following the
lead of Ontario, New Brunswick, and
Nunavut.
What’s my initial response? When
confronted with a growing problem
of absenteeism, Nova Scotia
Education seems to be considering
“compulsory engagement” until age
18. With 7.4% of students missing
20% or more of classes and 45%
absent for 10% of their classes, it’s a
deeply entrenched problem. First
came the carrot ( the elementary
level behaviour modification (PEBS)
program and high school exam
exemptions), now we seem to be
resorting to the stick ( compulsory
schooling to 18).
What does the education research
say? Student engagement is clearly
more important than attending and
simply occupying classroom seats.
Canada’s largest national school
survey, Tell Them from Me, provided
a clearer sense of the problem and
identified the factors contributing to
“a sense of belonging at school.”
“Improving school and classroom
climate” are key to “increasing
engagement,” says CRISP Director
Douglas Willms (MASS Journal,Fall
2008). Leading American expert,
Deborah Meier (2002), sees school
size as a critical factor — the smaller
the school, the more likely students
are to feel a sense of attachment;
the larger the school, the greater the
potential for standardization,
alienation and absenteeism.
A few critical questions need to be
asked: Why are so many kids tuning
out, skipping or dropping out in Nova
Scotia and elsewhere? In legislating
compulsory high school attendance,
will we be giving up on making
school more engaging for kids? And
more importantly, will everyone be
graduating?
FACTORS CAUSING STUDENT
ABSENTEEISM ACCORDING TO
PEERS
There are many factors involved in
motivating students to attend school.
Students who are not motivated,
hence,
will usually decide not to be present
in school. Based on several
researches conducted, the rate of
absenteeism
among students increases annually.
As a result, this problem will more or
less adversely affect the school’s
reputation. Thus, this study is
conducted to identify factors that
cause students to play truant. A set
of
questionnaire was used to collect
the information needed. The
quantitative data was analyzed using
Statistics
Package for the Social Sciences
(SPSS) to obtain descriptive
statistics indices. The research
findings were duly
discussed.

II. STATEMENT OF THE
PROBLEM
Possible Causes of Absenteeism
1. Self-supporting pupils
2. Lack of Financial Support
3. Taking Care of Younger Siblings
and do home chores
4. Lack of Parental Support
5. Sickness, health condition and
dental problems
6. Lack of teacher monitoring and
supervision
7. Influence of environmental factors
III. PLANS ON HOW TO
CONDUCT THE RESEARCH
If there are stakeholders who could
offer scholarship grants to poor but
deserving pupils there could be no
self-supporting pupils. If the parents
could give support to the needs of
the pupils, they would not be absent
from
school. If the parents will not request
their children to do home chores and
take care of younger siblings, they
could not
miss their classes. If only the parents
could encourage and follow up their
children to go to school, then they
would be
motivated to study. If the pupils have
a regular dental and health check-
ups they could not miss their classes
when not 1 | P a g e
feeling well. If the adviser had set
rules and initiates closer monitoring
and supervision with them, absences
might be
avoided. When the pupils are guided
by their parents, they could be
spared from computer games, vices
and influence
of their peers.
IV. REFERENCES

https://hubpages.com. Lurenmurcia,
January 8, 2015.
http://www.mcser.org.
GulapShahzada, SafdarRehman
Ghazi, Habib Nawaz, AbdUllah Khan,
January 25, 2015.

https://educhatter.wordpress.com.P
aul W. Bennett, January 30, 2010.

AsmawatiSuhid, Ph.D. 1, Abdul

Rahman Md. Aroff, Ph.D. 2, Norliana
Kamal 3. “FACTORS CAUSING
STUDENT ABSENTEEISM
ACCORDING TO PEERS.”
International Journal of Arts and
Commerce Vol. 1 No. 4 September
2012.