Qualitative Philippines

The Asia-Pacific Edu cation Researcher 18 :2 (2009), pp. 151-165

A Qualitative Research Study on School Absenteeism Among College Students M i c h a e l A . C lo lo r e s Ateneo de Naga University [email protected]

School absenteeism is an alarming problem for administrators, teachers, parents, and the society, in general, general, as well as for the students, in pa rticular. It may indicate low performance performance of teachers, students’ dissatisfa dissatisfa ction of the school’s school’s services, or la ck of or poor academic and non-academic structur stru ctures es or policies that address addr ess the problems problems or factors fact ors influencing or reinforcing this behavior. Parents a re financially bur dened dened for having their children to stay longer longer in the school, having to re-enroll them in subjects where they fail due to excessive absences. The present study aimed to explore the pr ocess by which the phenomenon of school absenteeism evolves or is experienced by the college students . In-depth In-dept h interviews of ten absentee abs entee students stu dents and the use of editing style analysis and a method described by Colaizzi (1978) yielded three category schemes of experience of school absenteeism: absenteeism: (a) disempowering disempowering circumstances - feeling feeling of helplessness; (b) misguided misguided value system - mixed up priorities; and (c) pedagogical pedagogical dilemm dilemmas as - unappealing academic aca demic environments. environments. Based on the findings, the pedagogical, psychological a nd socio-cultura l implications implications a re discussed. Keyword Keyw ords: s: Absenteeism, qualitative research, regular attendance

Success in any field of endeavor requires discipline. In school for example, students are molded to become responsibl respo nsiblee individuals individuals who would be able to carry out tasks t asks and duties without much supervision supervision from teachers. At home, they are trusted trust ed by parents to help themselves themselves seek for their bright future. futu re. But the t he kind of environment environment these t hese students frequent creates a negative force force that tests test s their their control and discipl disciplin ine. e. A critical criticalfact factor or lurking lurking within academic institutions and shaking their psychosoci psychosocial al and cognitiv cognitivee stabili stability ty is absenteei absenteeism. sm. When a student chooses to t o be absent in school, especially at the coll co llege ege level, he/she suffers a loss lo ss of learning and instructional instruct ional time time leading to po or

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social and academic achievements. This is not to mention the financial lloss oss if the student stud ent is enroll enro lled ed in a private school. As he/she continuously misses learning opportunities in school, he/she may eventually drop out o ut of school schoo l moving moving on to lives lives of delinquency, delinquency, crim c rime, e, poverty povert y, and unemploym u nemployment. ent. Hence, school absenteeism has far-reaching consequences. In most countries, atte ndance to primary and secondary schools is compulsory; compulsory; thus, stud ents who irregul rregularl arly y attend attend their their classe classess and and demonstr demonstrate ate patterns patterns of chroni chronicc absenc absences es violate violate the compul compulsory sory attendance laws. These laws consider absences due to t o illness illness and family family crises as excused absences. abse nces.

2009 De La Salle Salle University, Philippines

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THE ASIA -PACIFIC EDUCA TION RESEARCHER

An unjustifiable or unexplainable absence or non attendance from school with attempt by the student to conceal the absenteeism is referred to as truancy . Research done on school absenteeism/ non-attendance/truancy at the primary and secondary levels suggests that it is a phenomenon with no single cause-effect relationship (Cameron, 2004). Understanding the phenomenon means considering interrelated and multidirectional forces interacting among them, namely, the student, the school, and the community. In England, Finland, France, Germany, Hungary, the Netherlands, Poland, Spain, and Russia, absenteeism is considered to be one of the standard problems of the school systems. Researches done on absenteeism in these European countries reveal that absenteeism is associated with juvenile delinquency, social and individual factors, school pro blems, poor language ability, difficult family situation, alcoholism, financial need and illness. Demographic and ethnic factors are also mentioned in this connection. In general, the frequency of absences in major cities is higher than the frequency of absenteeism in rural areas. Absenteeism among students is also attributed t o an extremely cold and impersonal learning environment (Sokrates Programme COMENIUS 2.1., 2003). Researches on school absenteeism revealed that absences are related to a number of important consequences or outcomes (Lounsbury, Steel, Loveland, & Gibson, 2004). These include school drop-out, student achievement, IQ scores, delinquency (Towberman, 1994), gang membership (Aiken, Rush, Wycoff, 1993), educational aspirations, and school performance/ attendance of one’s own children (Bhatnagar & Sharma, 1992; Matumoto, 1994). Quantitative research on antecedent and correlates of absenteeism linked it to such diverse variables as socioeconomic disadvantage, selfconcept and personality needs, teacher control and support, teacher interpersonal skills (Loveland, Lounsbury, Welsh, & Buboltz, 2007), academic press (Philips, 1997), teen pregnancy (Stevenson, Maton, & Tett, 1998), family activity levels

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(Hansen, Sanders, Massaro, & Last, 1998), and affiliation pro blems with peers (Hirate & Sako , 1998-1999), substance abuse (Byrne & Mazanov, 1999), participation in school athletics (Whitley, 1999), cognitive style (Rayner & Riding, 1996), season of birth (Carroll, 1992), and self-report ed alienation. Corville-Smith, Ryan, Adams, & Dalicandro, (1998) define absenteeism as a complex behavioral product triggered by multiple factors. In the Philippines, research on absenteeism started in 1950s and many of these studies focused on the elementaryand high school levels. It appears that there is a dearth of researches on school absenteeism at the college level, particularly among private institutions. In the case of Ateneo de Naga University, one of the Filipino Catholic Jesuit universities in the Philippines, school absenteeism is a major problem. During the first semester o f the scho ol year 2006-2007, a total of 2003 (35.30%) of 5673 students were placed under Warning Status (i.e., they have incurred the maximum allowable absences). About 461 or 23% of the 2003 students are from the College of Arts and Sciences, 431 or 21.5%, from the College of Computer Studies, 401 or 20% from the College of Commerce, 310 or 15.5% from the College of Educat ion, 210 or 10.5% from the College of Nursing, and 190 or 9.5%, from the College of Engineering. The comparative data on Failure Due to Absences (AF) for the past three se mesters had almost the same number of absentees. Thirty-nine percent (39%) of the total number of students (5295) during the 1st semester o f S/Y 2006-2007 incurred AF status. Similarly, forty-nine percent (49%) during the 2nd semester of school year (SY) 2005-2006, and thirty-seven (37%) during the 1st semester of SY 2005-2006 were in the same situation. Although the College Faculty Manual (2003) explicitly states that: Punctual and regular attendance is expected of every student, thus all absences are counted…. Any student who accumulates

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absences beyond 5 hours for a 3-unit subject, 9 hours for a 5-unit subject, or 10 hours for a 6-unit subject receives Final Grade of AF. Lost hours due to late registration are considered absences…Lateness greater than 15 minutes after the start of class is considered an unexcused absence…. …If the student incurs half of the norm of absences, the OSA (Office of Student Affairs) issues a [warning] slip to notify him/ her [student] of his/her absences…

Still absenteeism has been prevalent among t he students. This alarming scenario has to be considered and explained so that academic hours are fruitfully spent by the students and that the university could better allow students to fully realize the effects of absenteeism to their academic performance. This qualitative study was conducted to uncover the reasons for college students’ absenteeism, and find out how it evolves and develops among the students. Using Constructivism as an alternat ive inquiry paradigm, this research focuses on the dynamics that influence absenteeism among the said group.

METHOD Research Design This study employed qualitative research design to explore the nature of school absenteeism among college students in one university in the Philippines. The experiences of absenteeism were reduced to a central meaning or the ‘essence’ of the experience (Moustakas, 1994) and how it evolves or develops Specifically, the re searcher utilized a phenomenological appro ach called descriptive phenomenology, specifically the methods of Colaizzi (1978, as cited in Cresswell, 2003; Denzin & Lincoln, 2000) in seeking for a thorough description of the meaning and process of the experience of absenteeism by identifying essential themes. Common patterns shared by particular instances were described.

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Finally, the pedagogical, psychological, and socio cultural context in which absenteeism occur were also examined. Setting and Informants This study was conducted in Ateneo de Naga University, a Jesuit Catholic Filipino university in the Bicol Region in the Philippines. To meet the theoretical needs of the research, maximum variation and criterion sampling (Denzin & Lincoln, 2000; Cresswell, 2003; Polit & Beck, 2004) were used. These sampling strategies involve the purposeful selection of wide range of cases with varied dimensions of interest. By selecting participants with diverse views and perspectives, researchers foresee preconceived or emerging conceptualizations. Cognizant with these facts, students were selected based on the List of Students with AF (Failed due to Absences), and from the Summary Report on Student Absences during the 1st semester of SY 2006-2007 obtained from the University Registrar. A tentative number of 15 students that committed AF in either their major and minor subject, or both major subjects, or either minor subjects, or received a Warning Slip were selected for the indepth unstructured interview. Both genders, all year levels and colleges were represented by the respondents. The sample size was determined based o n informational needs and guided by the principle of data saturation. A total of ten participants were interviewed about their experiences of school absenteeism. Each interview was carefully recorded and transcribed. With high concordance between interviews, the researcher judged that at the eighth interview, sufficient data saturation was achieved. At the cessation of the tenth interview, it was clear that additional themes had emerged since the eighth interview. Ethical Conside rati ons Ethics was observed in the execution of the design. All the participants were asked to sign a document that states their consent of their voluntary par ticipat ion an d the sa me do cu ment tha t

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responses would be taken with confidentiality. All data, e.g., participants’ information sheet, audiotape recordings and interview transcripts, were safely kept. No identifying information was included in the results section of this study.

Each experience was analyzed according to Collaizi’s (1978) phenomenological method. First, the researcher read all proto cols to get a feeling for them. Each protocol was reviewed and significant statements extracted. The researcher identified and extracted about 136 significant statements. Seventy-five (75) meanings were formulated to each of the significant statement was made. Then the meanings were clustered by themes (i.e., the process by which absenteeism is experienced). Clusters were referred back to the original protocols to validate them. The researcher initially identified 27 themes which were organized into four clusters. The last step includes noting discrepancies among or between the various clusters, ignoring data or themes that do not fit, until six processes within three overarching categories were derived (Figure 1). After which, the results were integrated into a number of clear description of the phenomenon. Lastly, as a final validating step, the researcher asked some o f the participants to read and comment on the findings.

Data- Collection and Analysis Questions were prepared before the actual interview. Tape-recorded interviews of the informants were listened to and checked for audibility and completeness immediately after the interview. All interviews were later transcribed. In the analysis of data, the editing analysis style (Crabtree & Miller, 1999) was employed. Acting as the interpreter, the researcher read through texts in search of meaningful segments. Once segments were identified and reviewed, a category scheme and corresponding codes that can be used to sort and organize the data were developed. Then patterns and structures that connect the thematic categories were searched for in the data. Collaizi’s (1978, as cited in Creswell, 2003; Denzin & Lincoln, 2000) method calls for a final validationof the results byreturning to the participants of the study (i.e., member checking) to ensure the trustworthiness of the study. This was done by asking three participants to review and comment on the category schemes and thematic summaries. To further ascertain scientific rigor, credibility and confirmability of the findings, a clinical psychologist acted as an external evaluator and co nducted an inquiry audit and audit trail. The results were further reviewed by an educational psychologist.

FINDINGS

A total of ten participants were interviewed about their experiences regarding school absenteeism. Each interview was carefully recorded and transcribed. With high concordance between interviews, the researcher felt that after the eighth interview, sufficient data saturation was achieved. At the cessation of the tenth interview, it was clear that additional themes had emerged since the eighth interview.

Category: Disempowering Circumstances – Feeling Of Helplessn ess People’s behavior can be explained in terms of dispositional (or personal/internal) efforts, such as ability or effort, and situational (or environmental/ external) factors, such as c ircumstances or luck. Behaviors can be distinguished also between intentional and unintentional behaviors. People have also the tendency to deny responsibility when they do wrong (and take credit when things go right). The students explained their absenteeism in situational (environmental/external) terms. Generally, they also expressed helplessness in avoiding missing classes, implying therefore that this behavior is unintentional. In this category, two major themes emerged: (a) overcoming practical predicaments and (b) struggling with classroom complexities. Process: Overcoming practical predicaments. Home and family situations, health problems, major life events, bad weather conditions and

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School absenteeism

Feeling of helplessness DISEMPOWERING CIRCUMSTANCES

Mixed up priorities MISGUIDED VALUE SYSTEM

Pedagogical dilemmas UNAPPEALING LEARNING ENVIRONMENT

Figure 1. The three categories of influences leading to school absenteeism

transpo rtation problems were mentioned by the students as reasons for their absences in school. Students fail to enter classes to attend to some of their family concerns and ho me situations or family problems. Students said they attend to a family member who is sick. When my grandfather was hospitalized...he underwent operation. He was old, about 70 plus. He had asthma and hear t disease...there were complications. We had to do shifting in attending to him.

Another informant explained the reason of his absenteeism. I cannot avoid being absent because of work...family business. I am the eldest child. Usually when there is an urgent work... My par ents allowed to manage everything. The [business] project won’t be done unless I am [present] in the site...

One student said that he is trying to rebel from his parents for the maltreatment he received. His

school absenteeism is confounded by the emotional neglect he is experiencing from his parents. I have a long trouble with my family. My father is always beating me physically, violently. I do not want to go home anymore. …Since childhood I was never appreciated by my family. By getting absent, I thought I could get them concerned with me…

The family’s financial concerns require or force students to do part-time job. Others do not have allowance for the day. Some students have problems with their transportation allowance. All these contribute to school absenteeism. This semester, it is only now that it happened. We have a financial problem, I do not have allowance to go to school.

Dysmenorrhea, fever, stomach ache, toothache are some of the cited ailments of the student causing them to miss classes. Some of these may be intolerable and troublesome for students prompting them to choose not to att end classes.

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Death in the family, or wedding of a family member, early pregnancy, as major life events were also mentioned as causes o f skipping classes. For example, when a student finds out that she is pr egnant, she avo ids emba rrassment by not attending her classes anymore.

classes in which students felt helpless to do anything. Some failed in coping with learning demands especially after dro pping from school and being re-admitted after two or three years is one of the causes of absenteeism among students. Students found it very hard to cope with the cognitive demands of the lessons. Realizing that he/she would not be able to cope with the academic tasks and he/she thought it was too advanced for him, so he/ she decided to be absent and finally just let him/ herself be marked AF (Failed due to Absences):

I am ashamed already...before I knew that I was pregnant, I was already absent for a week, they were looking for me already. I was in a block section. They were asking why I no longer attended my classes... that was when I decided not to continue attending my classes anymore...

Regular attendance of students to their classes may be caused by bad weather conditions and transportation. In the country in which this study was conducted, weather is very unpredictable. A respondent said: When there is flood…I thought it would be declared… I thought that there would be no classes… So I did not go to school anymore… though it “no classes” was not yet declared.

Transportation problem is also cited by students. Transportation problem... Yes, sometimes there are jeepneys that take more than one hour when travel time is supposed to be 30 minutes only. It depends on the jeepney where you are riding… sometimes it stops a lot…

According to another student: Sometimes, when I am in our town and then there is a typhoon forecast, I do not go to the city anymore… also because of transportation problem or tra ffic.

Process: Struggling with classroom com plex itie s. Some of the students felt anxious because they thought could not cope with the demands of their subjects. This is compounded with problems such as alienation in the classroom and schedule of

I listened intently to my teacher...what I understood was different... I failed in 2 quizzes and Prelims exams... By Midterms exams, I decided that it would be good if I didn’t enter the class anymore and have AF.

Alienation occurred when a student is enrolled in a class wherein he/she is either different in year level or course. If the teacher is not mindful of this and does not consider his/her being an “alien” in the class, learning experiences became unpleasant for the student. In that class, I joined a block section… because I have conflict in schedule if I join my block… I was an irregular student…Then this class is not my block… It was difficult to adjust.

Another student said about the same problem: It was... I am an irregular student...I was enrolled in a block section... I do not belong in their block...I was a new student during that sem... and in that class... I was absent all the time... It is difficult to adjust...

Some students said that they are sleepy during certain class hours, especially the 3:00-4:30 classes. If they have consecutive classes from10:30 to 1:30 or up to 3:00, students decide to be absent to take their lunch. At 10:30-12:00am class, I am lazy already...Sometimes I wanted to eat already...


Schedule of classes also overlaps with other themes, like Self-discipline and Nat ure of peers (see Category: Student’s value system: Mixed up priorities). I did not enroll in a 3:00pm class because I feel sleepy and lazy and it is usually the time to going out and to have fun with my peers.”

Category: Student’s value system – Mixed up priorities The occurrence of absenteeism as experienced by the students was not accidental and can be explained in dispositional and intentional terms. In many instances, students freely choose t o be absent and were not forced to act that way. Deliberate rather than accidentalschool absenteeism is caused by lack of self-discipline, peer pressure, lack of study skills or time management, and extra curricular activities. Three themes emerged that support the idea that student’s mixed up priorities caused school absenteeism: (a) pro crastinating for self-serving activities; (b) desiring to belong, and (c) getting the wrong idea. Process: P rocrastinating for self -serving act ivi ties. It is obvious that a student’s lack of selfdiscipline and inefficient study skills or time management emanated from their value system whose priorities set aside regular attendance in their classes. Students themselves admitted that they have pro blems in waking up early for their morning classes or they go home or go to their boarding house at noontime or during their free time to sleep, then they sometimes feel lazy going back to school. One participant said that he oversleeps every time it rains, resulting to his absence in the class. The lack of efficient study skills or time management is manifested by (a) the lack of preparation for the exam or cramming, and (b) the inability to meet course requirements or projects. Many students opted to be absent on the examination day because they lacked prepar ation for the examination.

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I was not r eady… because even if you study a lot, you will not be able to finish all. Sometimes you have 9 subjects or 8 subjects at the same time. You need to study all. Sometimes there is an exam on five or four of these subjects, sometimes one after the other… sometimes I am so stressed… I would rather have the delayed exam.

Process: Desiring to belong. Students’ friends pressure them to go out during class time especially during the 6:00 or 7:30 classes. There are students who decide to be absent to attend parties or family gathering. Hence, the student s’ ‘priority’ that is in co nflict with their schedule of classes is another common reason for absenteeism. Yes... in my evening classes... They invite... sometimes just to go to [ dow nt ow n] .. . sometimes we go to [bars and discos] (laughs)...

Process: Getting the wrong idea. Deliberately or unintentionally, some students expressed non-compliance with the policy of attendance. It seemed that their compliance (or non-compliance) represented a compromise in this situation where people face a conflict between what t hey privately believe and what majority of students publicly believe. Reasoning out that the allowable absences stated in the academic policy on attendance is a “privilege” to enjoy and expressing other seemingly immature perceptions about the po licy, students evidently get the wrong idea about the intentions of the policy. Some students think that the allowable absences are a privilege –working to the advantage of those who would meet deadlines of class requirements. Also, according to one informant, Of course as a typical student… for me, sometimes just for fun not to attend my class… sometimes I just want to go anywhere… actually, for me, it is a normal event… In my own opinion, because I think

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not one student in our school has never been absent from his/her class.

The student’s observation regarding the implementation of school po licy is a factor why students do not care about being absent in their classes. Students’ absenteeism is further aggravated when, Maybe it was the teacher’s fault. There are teachers who are not strict in attendance... especially in my minor subjects... They let the beadlle do the sole checking of attendance.

Another dominant perception regarding the attendance policy is that the number of allowable absences is not enough. Here in our school, I think the allowable absences is not enough… For me… Because compared to other schools, I learned they allow more absences… So I think the allowable absences must be increased… maybe 5 hours… or 8 hours…a dditional 2… It would be favorable to us.

Another informant said: For me as a student... It is like.... we are given a certain degree of freedom to be absent, that is how I interpret the policy...Sometimes… when it is too much, and I know I have three absences already…I thought if I would be absent again, I would get an AF… So I hesitate to be absent again…But if it was my first absence… it is okay… to be absent because it is the first… Especially if I know that the teacher has not required any anything to be submitted from us yet.

Students explained also that they decide to be absent from their classes kno wing that they will fail just the same; they would rather choose an AF (Failure due to Absences) rat her than F (Failed) so they deliberately not attend their classes anymore.

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Category: Pedagogical dilemmas – Unappealing learning environment Unintended and unexpected outcomes tend to be attributed to external factors. Similarly, many students said that they unintentionally miss classes because of some situational factors related to their learning environment. It should be noted, however, that embedded in the themes under this category are the overarching entangled roles played by motivational and cognitive factors. Process: Losing interest. Teaching practices done with the best intentions may seem ineffective and used by students to rationalize their absenteeism. Some students also cited that teacher personal factors are so unappealing to them that their interest in attending classes is lost. When the teachers do not employ varied teaching strategies and when the students kno w beforehand what they will do in the class, then they just decide to miss the class. One student said that in one of her classes, there is an overuse of a teaching strategy, like film viewing or film analysis: Yeah…my grades are fine…then, sometimes we are just watching films…sometimes I’ve seen it already…so I don’t enter the class anymore…

Also, when instruction or learning experience is boring for the students, like when the lesson in their religious studies class is done through a long prayerful mood (e.g., the Bible reading is used as a springboard for t he day’s lesson) or when they know the next topic to be discussed, students would rather be absent. Some students opt t o be absent when they feel that they will pass the course even if they are always absent. Maybe they know that the teacher does not fail students in that subject: It is okay to sacrifice the class because I am bored in that subject anyway... And yes, it is be ca use I th ink I will pass the su bj ec t anyway.

SCHO OL A BSENTEEISM AM ON G CO LLEGE STUDENTS

Also, if a teacher always gives hand-outs, students are also confident that even if they are absent. For so me, knowing that the teac her will not give a quiz or recitation in their class can be a reason also for being absent. Maybe students knew that their grades will not be affected since there will be no graded act ivity announced in the class: If it is really necessary that I must be absent so that I can do what I have to do… for example it has to be at a certain time or period…And when I know that there would really be no significant activity or quiz in the class today…I know that the teacher will just be doing the lesson or he distributes handouts… if I really have to be absent to do something else, I would. I will just make up for it in the next meeting…

Boring, unapproachable, unkind, and unsympathetic teachers indirectly urge students to miss their classes. No th ing rea lly, I am ju st la zy …T ha t is all…Maybe it is also because of the teacher… because if the teacher is… he/she is boring indeed…

The student’s dislike for his/her teacher compounds absenteeism. Moreo ver, when the teacher is always absent, the students are also absent. This is common among part-time teachers. Sometimes, there are teachers who are always present. There are also those who are always absent. You could not predict when they will come to meet us... Always absent...ther are a few... Yes... if I attend the class, my teacher doesn’t... If you don’t... the teacher comes (laughs)...

DISCUSSION

School absenteeism as experienced by the college students is related to various circumstances. For many, the decision to miss classes come from experiences of disempowering situations that are

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expressed as feeling of helplessness against so me very practical pro blems in the family, health and safety. The samples of this study are enrolled in a rural private university wherein majority of the students come from low- or average-income families. This study supports previous quantitative research regarding the prevalence of parentcondoned absenteeism and the contribution of socio-economic factors to high incidence of absenteeism (Marsh, 2000). The phenomenon of absenteeism can readily be traced to the issue of poverty. In general, the lower the family income, the higher the absenteeism rates. Living in a po or or a low-income family greatly increased the chances of being an at-risk or chronic absentee (Romero & Lee, 2007) Majority of Filipinos are po or, given its high population growth and unequal distribution of income. The disrupting growth and worsening poverty in the Philippines is mainly rural, although variable by region and deepened by natural disasters, variable markets and ar med conflicts. Access to education, particularly primary education, provides a vivid evidence of this disempowering circumstance. It was reported that in school year 2005-2006, the part icipation rate dropped from 96.8% to 84.4%. Dropout rates increased from 2001-2005; completion rates were on decreasing trend from 2002-2005 (Australian Agency for International Development [AusAid], 2008). This distressing scenario is no different in secondary and tertiary schools. Even in developed countries like Australia, socio-economic conditions are strong factors leading to absenteeism. For instance, Fitzgibbon (1996) found that students from ‘low socio-economic backgrounds and from rural and remote communities [were] trailing their higher so cio-economic background, urban peers [in retention rates]’ (p. 2). Indeed, individuals are driven by forces beyond their control, either unconscious forces from within or reinforcements from without. The practical predicaments from family and natural events like bad weather are external forces which can be related to Maslow’s (1968) needs (i.e., lower needs such as survival and safety). When such

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needs, including belongingness and self-esteem are satisfied, a person begins to be motivated to fulfill other higher needs (e.g., intellectual achievement, aesthetic appreciation and self-actualization). In the case of the respondents of this study, intellectual achievement through regular attendance to classes was set aside for more urgent and practical needs. Giddens (1990) contends that even though education has promised to lessen gaps of wealth and power by providing young people from an extensive range of backgrounds with skills that will facilitate them to fit more easily into society, on the contrary, it tends to reinforce existing inequalities rather than act to change them. Rizvi (1993) stressed that ‘poverty is not only a problem for individuals, it is also an educational issue about how relations of social distribution are arranged a nd how curriculum and pedagogy serve some groups bett er than others’ (p. 45). While a line between poverty and education is clearly important, it appears trapped within a deficit theory that suggests that children who are poo r lack some essential condition necessary for educational success. Hence, school absenteeism could be an outcome or the process by which this promise of reducing socio-economic disparities is not fulfilled. Absentee students reported struggling with classroom complexities manifested by anxiety and alienation. At one time or ano ther, everyone has experienced anxiety, a general uneasiness, a feeling of self-doubt, and sense of tension. The effects of anxiety on school achievement are clear. It can be both a cause and an effect of school failure – students do poorly because they are anxious, and their poor performance increases with anxiety. Anxiety is probably both a trait and a state. Some students tend to be anxious in many situations (trait anxiety), but some situations are especially anxiety-provoking (state anxiety) (Covington, 1992; Zeidner, 1998). Seemingly, the anxiety felt by the absentee students is also connected to their self-efficacy beliefs. In the classroom, successes raise efficacy beliefs, while failures lower efficacy. Level of arousal affects self-efficacy, depending on how the arousal is interpreted. As one faces the task, he/ she is anxious and worried (lowers efficacy) or

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excited and “psyched” (raises efficacy) (Bandura, 1997; Pintrich & Schunk, 2002). What teachers should do is to help highly anxious students to set realistic goals because these individuals often have difficulty making wise choices. They tend to select either extremely difficult or extremely easy tasks. In the first case, they are likely to fail, which will increase their sense of hopelessness and anxiety about school. In the second case, they will probably succeed on the easy tasks, but they will miss the sense of satisfaction that could encourage greater effort and ease their fears about schoolwork. Goal cards, progress charts or goal-planning journals may help in this case (Woolfolk, 2004). Students learn from the company they keep. They are motivated t o learn if they are members of a classroom that values learning. The greatest motivational problems arise when students attribute failures to stable, uncontrollable causes. “Unmotivated” students may seem resigned to failure, depressed, and helpless (Weiner, 2000; Weiner, Russell, & Lerman, 1978). These students respond to failure by focusing even more on their own inadequacy, and their attitudes toward schoolwork may deteriorate even further (Ames, 1992). Some of the students who develop absenteeism are resigned to believe that they will just fail, and decide that t hey might as well miss their classes altogether. Apathy is a logical reaction to failure if students believe the causes are stable, unlikely to change, and beyond t heir contro l. In addition, students who view their failures in this light are less likely to seek help; they believe nothing and no one can help (Ames & Lau, 1982). Cognitive theorists believe that behavior is determined by our thinking (Stipek, 2002). Behavior is initiated and regulated by plans, goals, schemas, expectations, and attributions. People do not respond to external events or physical conditions such as hunger but rather to their interpretations of these events. People are active and curious, searching for information to solve personally relevant problems (Woolfolk, 2004). This is another way to understand why the misguided value system surfaced as mixed up


priorities that lead to schoo l absenteeism. Their lack of self-discipline and inefficient study skills and time management reflected their procrastination for self-serving activities. Absentee students are not able to manage themselves. And this calls for rethinking about how the schools, in general, are able to move from demanding obedience to teaching self-regulation and self-control (Weinstein, 1999). Regular attendance in school especially for university students is a sign of self-contro l. Savage (1999) said that “the fundamental purpose of discipline is the development of self-control… Academic knowledge and technological skill will be of little consequence if those who po sses them lack selfcontrol” (p.11). Through self-control, students demonstrate responsibility – the ability to fulfill their own needs without interfering with the rights and needs of others (Glasser, 1990). What teachers can therefore do to help absentee student s learn self-control is to help them make choices and deal with the consequences. T hey can also help these students to set goals and priorities, manage time, collaborate to learn, mediate disputes and peace, and develop trusting relations with trustworthy teachers and classmates (Lewis, 2001; Rogers & Freiberg, 1994). Students may develop absenteeism because of their desire to belong, but the nature of their peers inadvertently determine their behavior. Belonging to a social group and maintaining self-estee m within that g roup, for example, are important to students. If doing what the teacher says conflicts with group rules, students may choose to ignore the teacher’s wishes or even defy the teacher (Woolfolk, 2004). Student’s desire to belong is associated with their intentional or unintentional misinterpretation of the academic policy on regular att endance in classes. It may be related to students less mature socio-emotional functioning or level of maturity. Indeed, the immature socio-emotional development and functioning of students as reported by teachers, and their incipient school refusal behaviors as repo rted by parents, emerged as important factors related to absenteeism.

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Students who exhibited less mature socioemotional functioning in the classroom, as indicated by scores on approaches to learning, interpersonal relations, self-contro l, as well as on externalizing and internalizing pro blem behaviors, had higher absenteeism rates than those with greater socioemotional maturity. Likewise, children who, according to their parents, complained about school, were upset to go to school, or claimed to be sick to stay home had higher absenteeism than those who did not engage in these behaviors (Romero & Lee, 2007). Without a doubt, classes are particular kinds of environments. They have unique characteristics that affect students no matter how they or the classrooms are organized or what the teacher believes about education (Doyle, 1986). How the teacher manages the classroom environment affects the sustained interest of students in attending classes regularly. During a single day, teachers have literally hundreds of interactions with students. Classrooms have differing abilities, goals, and preferences. Actions occur concurrently –all takes place at once and the pace is quick. In these rapid-fire interactions, events are also erratic. Moreover, classrooms are public; the way the teacher handles these unexpected interruptions is observed and judged by everyone. Students always perceive if the teacher is being “fair.” Is there favoritism? (Woolfolk, 2004). What happens when a rule (like regular att endance to classes) is broke n? Lastly, Classrooms have histories. The implication o f a particular teacher’s or student’s actions depends in part on what has happened before. The fourth time a student is absent requires a different rejoinder from the t eacher than the first absence. In addition, the history of the first few weeks of school shapes life in the classroom all semester. Thus, a problem like absenteeism is related to how teacher reacts to it; how they are reminded of the importance o f regular attendance to classes Why are students bored in their classes and eventually lose interest? Unappealing learning environments can be avoided if individual variations are taken into account in instructional planning.

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Maybe students deliberately miss their classes because the work assigned is too complicated. Or maybe students are uninterested by lessons because these are well below their ability levels, hence, are more engrossed in finding more stimulating activities to fill their time. Thus far, any attempt of the teacher to motivate students is in a way preventing discipline problems including absenteeism. A student involved in learning is generally not drawn in a conflict with the teacher or o ther students at the same time. Effective teachers build on a good start. They keep their management system by avoiding problems and keeping students engaged in dynamic learning activities. To mot ivate students, teachers facilitate students so that they stimulate curiosity, relate lessons to student interest, establish learning goals instead of performance goals, and have positive expectations. Careful planning and monitoring is also a key to keep students in their classes. The format of a lesson affects student involvement. In general, without eliminating independent wo rk from the students, as teacher supervision increases, students’ engaged time also increases (Emmer & Evertson, 1981). If their curiosity is piqued, students will be motivated to persist in seeking answers. And students will be more engaged if they are drawn in in authentic tasks – activities that have connections to real life. Early researches on effective teaching focused on the personal qualities of the teachers themselves. Results revealed some lessons about three teacher characteristics: knowledge, clarity, and warmth (Woolfolk, 2004). Some teachers are much more enthusiastic than others. Some stud ies found that ratings of teachers’ enthusiasm for their respective subjects are correlated with student achievement gain (Rosenshine & Furst, 1973). Warmth, friendliness, and understanding seem to be the teacher traits most strongly related to student attitudes (Murray, 1983). In other words, to keep students in their classes, like their teachers and the class in general, teachers should continue to be warm and friendly. Teachers trained to demonstrate their enthusiasm have students who regularly attend classes, are focused and involved.

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Why do the students of this study choose a part icular explanatio n of their abs ent eeism? Heider’s attribution theory (1958, cited in Ciccarelli & Meyer, 2007) can be used as a lens to synthesize all the reasons, circumstances and c onditions in which this problem evolved among the students. Many antecedents and causes of such behavior could be assumed to be coming from external sources (situat ional cause), such as the weather, traffic, and family problems leading to feeling of helplessness as well as, unappealing learning environments emanating from uninteresting learning processes. Other reasons of missing classes could be assumed to come from within the students themselves (dispositional cause). In this case, it is the person’s internal personality characteristics that are seen as the cause of observed behavior. As shown in this study, many absentee students procrastinate in self-serving activities and prioritize friends and play over regular attenda nce to their classes. Lastly, Lewin (1951) proposed that every object exists in a “field of forces” that move to change it, define it, or give it a degree of stability and substance. The behavior of an individual at a given moment is the result of existing forces o perating simultaneously in his life space. Thus, ideas, expectations, feelings, attitudes and needs of the individuals constitute the internal forces while everything in the physical world, including other human beings, with which the internal forces interact at a given moment constitute the external force (psychological environment) of his life space. Undeniably, a student is motivated by psychological tensions by the interaction of the psychological self with a psychological environment. Absenteeism has become a particular response that occurs to reduce the psychological tension experienced by the students. Thus, to understand the learner’s motivation to continue attend their classes, “the teacher has to develop the ability to transcend the tensions (needs) of the learner, the learner’s abilities, and the properties of the learner’s perceived environment” (Bustos & Espiritu, 1996, p.41). Hitherto, the experience of absent eeism can be expla ined by link ing import ant theor ies


related to motivation, needs, attributions and cognitivism. Ultimately, to understand this behavior, one must look at all pieces of the puzzle - all dynamic interactions influence outcomes. Students’ processes of developing absenteeism are “coexisting facts which are conceived of as mutually interdependent (Lewin, 1951). As the students participate in many different life spaces such as family, church, work, or school, [absenteeism] was represented as movements through life spaces that carry both positive and negative influences and are driven by ones per cept io ns bas ed o ff t heir und erlyin g psychological needs (Daniels, 2003).

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