ABSENTEEISM: Factors Factors that affect affect a student’s student’s productivity productivity
Absenteeism in school is the habit of stayin stayin a!ay from school !ithout providin a enuine or any reason for not attendin classes"It is a truant behavior that neatively affects the performance amon students" #hile every student may miss some school activities no! and then$ absence becomes a problem !hen the student is a!ay from school for many days" da ys" Accordin to Merriam%#ebster dictionary$ absenteeism is &chronic absence"& In the conte't of school$ it is the habitual or intentional failure to attend school" absenteeism is an alarmin problem for administrators$ teachers$ parents$ society in eneral$ and pupils in particular" (naccepted absences have a neative effect on peer relationships$ !hich can cause further absences" This indicates that student absenteeism affected academic performance and that the level of student absenteeism mattered in academic performance"
According to Timothy Keter, Community Keter, Community Relations Coordinator, Eneza Educatio Lntd. Some causes of absenteeism are: . !hobic Adolescence: )urin this stae in the ro!th of a teen$ there is a lot of fear
developed as a result of physical chanes of the body for e'ample ro!th of pimples$ turbulent emotions e"t"c" This scares teens a!ay from school" ". Lac# of $nterest: Students could be lac*in interest in the study$ !hich could be as a
result of content that is difficult for them to rasp hence pushin them a!ay from school" %. Teacher a&&roach: The approach used by teachers may not be understood by the
student and this could lead them to lose interest in school" +unitive attendance policy plays a bi role in absenteeism too" '. !am&erness from the family: Students !ho et e'cessive poc*et money from their
families are most li*ely to absent themselves from school since they need time to spend the money" (. !ri)ate Couching: Fle'ible private couchin encouraed by some parents could drive a
number of students a!ay from the conventional school timetable"
*. +iseases: Some diseases li*e asthma !hich re,uires attention and care as !ell as an
environment that is !arm and not dusty could ma*e students remain home" . School $nfrastructural -acilities : -ac* of libraries$ sports facilities is a hindrance to
attendance of school amon students" . Entertainment: Accessibility of entertainment facilities li*e cinemas could divert attention
of some students from school"
Contributing -actors of Absenteeism Analysis of INDIANA DEPARTMENT OF EDUCATION states that +redictors of
absenteeism and truancy can be found inside and outside of the school environment" Bimler and .ir*land /01123 indicated that there may be as many as 21 different 4hot spots4 that can predict student absenteeism and truancy" These 4hot spots4 broadly include: school conditions5 home%based behavioral issues5 psycholoical issues5 family bac*round5 school%based behavioral issues5 peer issues5 as !ell as lac* of motivation or interest in school" These issues alin !ith more recent revie!s of literature reardin student absenteeism$ truancy$ and school avoidance behavior /.earney$ 01163" As .earney4s /01163 comprehensive revie! of literature related to school absenteeism and school refusal behavior suests absenteeism can be lin*ed to physical conditions$ psychiatric conditions$ classification and pro'imal variables$ conte'tual ris* factors$ as !ell as cross%cultural variables" Each of these variables has been sho!n to influence student attendance" The literature related to predictors of chronic absenteeism and truancy has been rouped into four broad cateories in this revie!" First$ research reardin student predictors of attendance is presented" This discussion reflects the most developed research base and broadly e'plains the individual characteristics that influence student attendance" Ne't$ parent and family predictors are revie!ed" These factors have received increased attention in recent years but continue to be an area !here more research is needed" School%level predictors are discussed ne't" The discussion of school%level factors includes structural$ cultural$ and social conditions in the school" These factors also relate to the physical condition of the school" Finally$ community predictors are discussed" 7ommunity%level predictors have only recently received attention from researchers and are thus an area of research that re,uires further elaboration"
$ndi)idual !redictors of Student Attendance 8esearchers have focused e'tensively on student%level predictors related to chronic absenteeism and truancy" +redictors at the student%level relate to the student4s physical and mental health5 perceptions of school5 as !ell as the availability of family and community resources" These predictors offer the most direct lin* to student attendance !hereas other
predictors that !ill be discussed are often mediated" Student predictors broadly include the student4s physical and mental health as !ell as their perceptions of school"
!hysical health Issues related to the student4s physical and mental health appears directly related to student attendance /.earney$ 01163" 7hronic health conditions are amon the most sinificant predictors of student absenteeism" This revie! found that asthma is one of the leadin predictors for student absenteeism /7enter for )isease 7ontrol$ 01195 .earney$ 01163" The 7enter for )isease 7ontrol estimates that 9"2 of children under 2; years of ae have been dianosed !ith asthma /A*inbami$ Moorman$
#olstein$ 01203" 8esearchers estimate that students !ith asthma miss bet!een 2"? and @"1 times more school days than their peers !ithout the condition /Bonilla$ et al"$ 011?5 )ey > Bloom$ 011?5 Moonie$ Sterlin$ Fis$ > 7astro$ 0113" Accordin to .earney /01163$ absenteeism related to asthma can be e'acerbated by numerous factors$ includin ae$ poverty$ medical care$ as !ell as the student4s livin environment" 8esearch suests that other health issues influence student attendance$ as !ell" For e'ample$ obesity$ chronic illness$ and chronic pain all appear to sinificantly predict hiher levels of student absenteeism /+alermo$ 01115 Sato$ et al"$ 011;3" Betters$ 011?3" 8oth%Isi*eit and colleaues /011?3 conducted a lare%scale study of children !ho e'perienced chronic pain" They concluded that &@1 to =1 percent of children and adolescents !ith pain reported moderate effects of their pain on school attendance& /p" 2?@3" In addition$ researchers have found that teen prenancy /.irby$ 01103 and druCalcohol use /8oebuc*$ French$ > )ennis$ 011=3 are also sinificant predictors of student absenteeism" )ra!in upon survey data from the 299; and 2996 National Dousehold Surveys on )ru Abuse$ 8oebuc*$ French$ and )ennis /011=3 found that amon 2?$26 adolescents ae 20 to 26$ mariuana use !as stronly associated !ith truancy and increased li*elihood of hih school dropout"
/ental health conditions Mental health conditions have also been attributed to student attendance" 8esearchers suest that mental health conditions often manifest themselves in the form of school refusal or school avoidance behaviors /Eer$ 7ostello$ > Anold$ 011@5 .in > Bernstein$ 01123" Eer$ 7ostello$ and Anold /011@3 e'amined the association bet!een mental health conditions /e""$ an'iety$ oppositional defiant disorder$ etc"3 and both school refusal and truancy" They found that school refusal !as typically associated !ith depression and separation an'iety" Truancy tended to be associated !ith oppositional defiant disorder and conduct disorder" In children !ho e'hibited a combination of school refusal and truancy$ 66"0 percent of the =$?11 school aed children included in the study had a specific psychiatric disorder" A smaller study conducted by .earney and Albano /011=3$ found that amon 2=@ youths the most common psychiatric conditions associated !ith school refusal !ere separation an'iety disorder$ eneralied an'iety disorder$ oppositional defiant disorder$ and depression" The findins obtained by .earney and Albano mirror those obtained in a smaller study conducted McShane$ #alter$ and 8ey /01123" As .earney /01163 noted$ there is &remar*able consistency !ith respect to the type of dianosis most commonly seen in youths !ith problematic absenteeism$ !hich essentially involves depression$ an'iety$ and disruptive behavior disorder& /p" =?;3" #hile underlyin mental health conditions contribute to school avoidance or refusal behaviors$ .earney /01163 suested that these conditions are often overloo*ed" It may also be due to a lac* of dianosis for many psychiatric conditions believed to be influencers or causes of the avoidance behavior$ includin depression$ separation an'iety$ oppositional defiant disorder$ conduct disorder$ and substance abuse /.in$ Deyne$ Tone$ llendic* 01125 .earney 01163" 7ertain other ris* factors may also increase an'iety or school%refusal behavior$ leadin to absenteeism or truancy$ such as homelessness and poverty$ teenae prenancy$ school violence and victimiation$ school climate and connectedness$ and parental involvement /.earney 01163"
Student &erce&tions of the school Student perceptions of the school have also been associated !ith student attendance" 8esearch stronly associates the student perceptions of the school culture and rior of the academic proram !ith student attendance /Balfan$ Dero$ > Mac Iver$ 011;3" 8esearchers find that students are less li*ely to attend school !hen they perceived their classes are borin or irrelevant5 feel unsupported or disrespected by teachers and other school staff5 feel uncomfortable or bullied by other students5 or feel tareted for discipline and behavioral issues /#astaff$ 7ombs$ > Garvis$ 01113" The same research also noted that !ere less li*ely to attend school !hen they perceived that they had fallen behind on their school !or* or could not balance the competin demands of !or* and school /#astaff$ et al"$ 01113" These factors broadly reflect the deree to !hich a student is
enaed in their school e'perience" )ecreased levels of student enaement have been associated !ith reduced attendance /Balfan$ Dero$ > Mac Iver$ 011;3"
Teacher0s Teacher0s Reaction about the issue Hne of the most annoyin e'periences for teachers li*e me is !hen students are absent" #e prepare lesson plans !ith the obective ob ective that 211 of the class !ill learn from the day’s classroom activities$ and it is most satisfyin !hen all students are present on that day and the days thereafter to ensure ma'imum learnin" Sadly$ it is very difficult to achieve perfect attendance" No matter ho! interestin and !ell%prepared my lessons and teachin materials are$ there are bound to be students !ho miss out on the day’s activities!illinly or un!illinly" I !ould li*e to minimie this problem$ if not eradicate it completely" That is !hy I conducted an action research to understand them better" I !anted a more accurate analysis of !hy some of my students are perennial absentees$ so I could formulate plans$ proects$ and prorams to minimie their absences" I hope that it also enlihtens enli htens you" Even if you are not an educator$ you may be able to help a student to stay in school"J% o!lcation"com
Effects of absenteeism Ac co r d in to #a lt e rs $ M S /0 1 1; 3 attendin school reularly is a vital factor in
school success for both students and teachers" E'cessive school absenteeism is often lin*ed to poor school academic achievement$ so school attendance by both teachers and students plays an interal role in the success and educational advancement levels of any academic institution and all students enrolled"
-imited Educational Instruction It is crucial to the success of any school to employ dedicated teachers !ho are physically present to administer ,uality education to each student" E'cessive absenteeism by the teachin staff can drastically hinder the learnin environment and academic achievement of students !hen instructors are not routinely present to teach them" #hen teachers are absent$ schools must rely on substitute teachers to provide instruction for the students" Do!ever$ many substitute teachers may not be ,ualified to provide ,uality educational instruction" Substitute teachers are not al!ays re,uired to possess a teachin certification$ and in some school districts they are able to teach !ith only a hih school
,uality instructional time for students can result in unlearned academic s*ills and obectives$ and subse,uent reduction in students4 standardied test scores"
+oor Academic +roress Successful schools cannot survive !ithout physically present students" Accordin to the &E'cessive Absences Intervention& research study by author -inda -" #illiams$ e'cessive absenteeism by students may result in unlearned course material from fe!er hours of instruction$ and a disruption of class instruction for teachers !ho have to administer remediation for the absent student !hen he returns to school" E'cessive absenteeism by students may additionally result in poor academic achievement because students are not receivin instruction on a consecutive basis" This problem also causes lo! standardied test scores because absent students are not present to learn *ey concepts and s*ills that are assessed on standardied e'ams"
Future +roblems E'cessive student absenteeism can lead to an increasin disinterest in school and academics in eneral" Accordin to author Gason A" Schoeneberer’s &-onitudinal Attendance Attendance +atterns& +atterns& study$ study$ e'cessive e'cessive absenteei absenteeism sm increases increases the chances chances of a student student eventually droppin out of school$ !hich can lead to lon term conse,uences for these students$ such as lo!er averae incomes$ hiher incidences of unemployment$ and a hiher li*elihood of incarceration" Schoeneberer asserts that students !ho drop out of school face a hiher ris* of poverty because of their inability to secure ,uality payin employment due to their lac* of education and resources" )ropouts !ho lac* education and resources are more li*ely to commit criminal activity leadin to incarceration"
)ecreased School Budet E'cessive absenteeism also places an e'treme strain on the school4s budet$ and allocated finances in each school district" Averae daily attendance$ or A)A$ is the averae attendance rate of students in a school year" States utilie a school district4s A)A to determine the allocated fundin it !ill receive" Schools may encounter a decrease in fundin due to a loss of full%time students" This limited budet due to e'cessive absences causes a lac* of educational resources and materials for the all the students in the school" Accordin to &(SA Today Today$& $& about about one in three teachers misses more than 21 days of school each year in the public school system" +rovidin substitutes for all of these absent teachers costs schools$ cumulatively$ at least K= billion a year" &(SA Today& further reported that in some states nearly ?1 percent of the teachers miss more than 21 days of school in a typical 261%day school year"
Absenteeism0s effect on scores in e1ams In the study of Sauers$ ) A /011?3 to assess the the impact of absenteeism test +erformance it revealed that Students4 scores on Tests Tests 2%= !ere classified into t!o roups based on !hether they !ere present in class the unannounced random day attendance !as ta*en prior to each
test" #e used t%tests to test for the differences in the mean test scores for those students present and absent" The results of these t tests are presented in Table Table @" 7learly$ the students present in class outperformed the students absent from class on each test" An e'amination of the rane of scores also reveals r eveals that no students !ho !ere absent from class on the random day attendance !as ta*en scored 91 percent or above /the cutoff for a rade r ade of A3 on the subse,uent test" Thus$ class attendance appears to be a necessary condition for scorin an A on a test in this course" Furthermore$ a student4s total number of absences !as neatively correlated !ith his or her final e'am score /r L %"=;$ p"11123" Chronic Absenteeism0s effect to a student
-earnin builds from day to day" -esson -esson plans are built around a proression in masterin concepts and information" It is not possible for a student to do hisCher best if they are not in school to manae class !or*$ ta*e notes and to interact !ith educators and student peers reardin course curriculum" #hen a student misses multiple days da ys of school it is called chronic absenteeism" 7hronic absenteeism is defined as missin 21 of the school year" In practical terms that translates to days in a trimester or 26 days in a school year5 this includes both e'cused and une'cused absences" It is a routine practice for parentsCuardians to receive a cautionary letter or phone call !hen their student’s absenteeism approaches 21" ften times these same parentsCuardians ,uestion the validity of these notifications if their student has been absent due to chronic illness$ vacation$ or family emerency" Do!ever$ it is not !hy a student is absent$ but ho! much a student is absent that really matters" 7hronic absenteeism not only affects student achievement$ it can affect a student’s attitude and behavior at school" #hen a student has attendance issues$ achievement issues and behavior issues it increases their ris* of droppin out of school" It is helpful for schools to have clear policies and procedures on ho! to respond to chronic absenteeism and to practice consistent communication !ith students$ parents and county aencies !hen concerns arise" Throuh the data that schools are re,uired to collect on absenteeism !e are able to assist students and their families in improvin chronic absenteeism by promptly addressin it" Schools can also help students improve attendance throuh education about the effects of chronic absenteeism and individualied oal settin" +arents can help improve their child’s attendance by !or*in !ith the school to identify !hy their child is missin school$ to address underlyin concerns and to establish concrete e'pectations of attendin school and not to neotiate a!ay from these e'pectations" Satisfyin the basic needs of a ood niht’s sleep$ a proper brea*fast and ettin to school on time can reatly impact a child’s attendance" #henever possible$ non%urent medical appo intments should be scheduled !hen school is not in session"
Students !ith ood home!or* habits are ar e less li*ely to miss school and if they do miss school they are more li*ely to complete ma*eup !or* in a timely fashion" Students !ho are disoranied5 unsure of their assinment responsibilities and or have numerous outstandin assinments are more li*ely to become causality to chronic absenteeism" Delpin students understand that consistently attendin school improves achievement and ives those increased opportunities and choices !hen they raduate falls s,uarely on all of our shoulders" Attendin school on reular basis does matter" Attendance Attendance is a *ey driver in a student’s achievement in the classroom$ standardied test scores$ hih school raduation$ and collee entrance" 7hronic absenteeism is a problem that can be remedied if addressed by all responsible parties: the student$ the parentCuardian$ the school and the community" Missin school is serious business$ and its impact on achievement and dropout rates has been vastly underestimated" So says a ne! report from Gohns Dop*ins (niversity$ &The Importance of Bein in School: A 8eport on Absenteeism in the Nation4s +ublic Schools"& Schools"& &-i*e bacteria in a hospital$& the report notes$ &chronic absenteeism can !rea* havoc lon before it is discovered$& and it often oes undetected" Gust si' states *eep records indicatin &chronic absenteeism$& enerally defined as missin 21 percent or more of all school days$ or about 26 days a year" That !ould add up to nearly a month of school days" da ys" The result: lo!er achievement and hiher dropout rates" The study estimates a national rate of 21 percent chronic absenteeism$ thouh researchers suspect the rate is more li*ely around 2? percent" That4s ? million to ;"? million students !ho are absent from 26 to 01 days of the school year" The si' reportin states /Florida$
Baltimore$ researchers found a stron correlation bet !een si'th%rade attendance and the rate at !hich students raduated from hih school on time " Further research sho!s students miss school for three primary reasons: They cannot attend$ due to illness$ family responsibilities$ housin instability or involvement !ith uvenile ustice5 they !ill not attend because of bullyin$ bull yin$ unsafe conditions$ harassment or embarrassment5 or they do not attend because they /andCor their parents3 do not value education" .no!in the causes of absenteeism can help uide solutions$ many of !hich are already bein successfully implemented" The best anti%absentee prorams involve close trac*in of attendance$ dianosin reasons for absence$ buildin stron relationships !ith students and families$ reconiin students for ood attendance $and often havin a &second shift& of adults in schools to follo! up !ith absent students" Amon specific successes is a proram called Atten)AN7E$ Atten)AN7E$ !here 011 si'th%raders si'th%raders !ho attended 9? percent of their second ,uarter at )ever%Mc7ormac* .%6 School in Boston$ earned permission to attend a dance at a hall across the street" The incentive$ alon !ith calls to absent students$ tutorin and case manaement /to provide counselin$ healthcare and housin !here needed3 is part of )iplomas No!$ No !$ a raduation advocacy nonprofit also operatin successfully in #ashinton$ )"7"$ Miami and -os Aneles" In Ne! or* or* 7ity$ !here more than 011$111 students are chronically absent$ a campain to *eep *ids in school ensures that more than @1$111 students et !a*e%up calls from celebrities li*e Michael Gordan and #hoopi
8efrences: http:CC!!!"isd=0@"orC!p%contentCuploadsCdo!nload%manaer%files
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