FACTORS AFFECTING STUDENTS' ABSENTEEISM IN SAMPLED GRADE 11

AND 12 STUDENTS IN SAN JOSE LITEX SENIOR HIGH SCHOOL

Chapter 2

REVIEW OF RELATED LITERATURE AND STUDIES

Introduction

Being always present in class and getting to school on time are two of the crucial
determining factors of a student’s success, not just as a student but as a person who
will be managing his/her own life in the future. Given the importance of being
punctual, this study aims to explore and find out the factors that affect the punctuality
of SIS students. In this chapter, we will be discussing about the background of our
study. It includes facts about tardiness, the different factors that causes it and its
effect to the students as students and as bearer of their own lives in the future. From
reliable research materials like online journals and research papers, we will provide
some facts and theories from authors, teachers and notable people in order to have
a concrete justification of our study.

Foreign Literature

Attending school regularly is a vital factor in school success for both students and
teachers. Excessive school absenteeism to poor school academic achievement, so
school attendance by both teachers and students plays an integral role in the
success and educational advancement levels of any academic institution and all
students enrolled.
Excessive student absenteeism can lead to an increasingdisinterest in school and
academics in general. According to author Jason A.Schoeneberger’s ‘’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. Dropout’s who lack education and resources are more likely to commit
criminal activity leading to
incarceration. According to the Center for Comprehensive School Reform andImprov
ement, attendance rates effectively predicted whether a student would fail course or
not, and surprisingly, attendance rate trumped grade point averages in predicting
whether a student would fail a class or not. In other words, a student could perform
very highly academically, but would likely still fail if he missed too much class.
Additionally, the more a student missed school over the course of several
subsequent years of school, the more his GPA declined and the further behind he
became in all subjects.

Foreign Studies

Decreasing the rate of student truancy and absenteeism has been and continues to
be the goal of school districts across the nation for over a century. Ama0ingly, little
research focuses on what schools can do to increase and maintain student’s daily
attendance and even fewer studies explore how families-school-community can build
a partnership to work together towards this goal.

Corville and Smith, (1995) state that “Despite the long history of concern over
student attendance, the issue has received relatively little attention from educational
researchers”

It is a fact that poor attendance predicts dropping out of school; chronic

absenteeism can have a negative impact on the student and school. Students who
are not in school are not learning and are not being adequately prepared to be
successful in school and in life. Research on truancy and absenteeism suggests that
“students with better attendance score higher on achievement tests than their more
frequently absent peers”(Lamdin, 1998)

If schools across the nation are being met with the challenge of making adequate
yearly progress, which is a state mandate, then more programs need to be funded in
schools to address the issue of truancy. So deal with the issue of truancy at the
James P. Timitly Middle School students have been identified with five or more
absences. She identified students prior and currentstandardi0ed test scores will be
reviewed. Forty-one six, seventh and eighth grade students were identified with
attendance concerns. A conference will be held to inform students of scores and
attendance concerns. Historically, schools have always held the student accountable
for truant behaviour. Corville-Smith, (1995) and Hoyle (1998) state that “Truant and
chronically absent students were considered deviants”. Frequently schools did not
contact families until the problem was so severe that the student was failing their
courses. Also research shows that the learning environment of an entire school can
be affected by an individual student’s attendance problem. Most schools receive
funds by the population they have attending school on a regular basis. If Districts
and school attendance rates are low, educational programs and resources are in
jeopardy of being cut. Also, in some locations student attendance is used as an
indicator of how well a school is functioning and requirements are set and monitored
for rating (Maryland State Department of Education, 1999).I conclude that this
research reveals a lot of important information about student attendance. Identifying
students early on who show signs of absenteeism is a predictor of warning signs
students dropping out. Even though truancy is a major issue in middle school and
high school, perhaps students should be identified and monitored early on in
elementary school. Educators need to continue to find innovative ways to bridge the
gap between home and school to communicate with parents the need for a strong
partnership so students can find success. Students need to "now that coming to
school on time, every day is important.

Local Literature

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.
Local Studies

According to (Gatherer and Manning. 1998) suggest that there aremay actually be
psychological benefits to occasional absences. Yet if one were to try dress this in
timetabling and in so doing, scheduled classes only on Tuesdays, Wednesdays, and
Thursday. Student’s perceptions of the classroom or teachers as chaotic, uncaring or
boring were associated with student absenteeism and truancy (Duckworth and
Dejong. 1989, Redericket, 1997) found that several family and community enrolment
practices were associated with student attendance, providing families with
information about people to contact at school or intuitions, conducting worships on
attendance, and providing after-school programs for students (Epstein and Sheldon,
2002). According to (Henry, 2007) social learning theory may also beapplied to the
way parents pass on their values and expectations relatives’ to schooling and
education. The attitude a student’s parents have toward truancy plays an important
role in the extent to which truant behavior persists High rates of unexcused
absences have been linked to “school disengagement” and lower academic
achievement. (Gottfried, 2009) students with high number of unexcused absences
might be less motivated and supported at home then a students with an equal
number of exceed ones :Therefore the reasons for school institutions absences are
related to the extent to which students learn. Recent studies show students who are
chronically absent are involved with the following disruptive classroom behavior in
the current percentiles; 29% are bullies, bullied 19% .Have disrespect for teachers
19% are afflicted with gangs, and 13% are verbally abuse teachers
(Reimer&Sminh,2005) see school absenteeism as a cause of low scholastic and
more students are referred to for disciplinary action (Sommer and Najd 1991).

RELATED STUDY

All students, yet for one reason or another, at one time or other time want miss to a
day of school. The general tendency to engage in such unwillingness is referred to
absenteeism. Student absenteeism is de ned by Teasley (2004) as a period of time
when a student does not attend school, has become major and continuous problem
among high school students in many countries. Indeed, numerous studies conducted
to answer a question that is why high school students miss classes. In this notion,
Teasley have noted numerous risk factors that contribute to student absenteeism
such as family health, low income, poor school climate, drug and alcohol use,
transportation problems, and community attitudes towards education. Pehlivan
(2006) found that the major reason given by students for non-attendance at lecture
or school were bored at school, dislike of school and lessons, encouragement of
friends, and lack of expectations about education. Wilkins (2008) has reported four
themes, which play important role to motivate students to attend school such as
school climate, academic environment, discipline, and relationships with teachers.
Ingul, Klöckner, Silverman, and Nordahl (2012) found that school absenteeism
associated with internalizing and externalizing behavior, family work and health, and
school environment. In another study, Henry (2007) has noted that parents’
education levels contribute to students’ absenteeism. Simons, Hwang, Fitzgerald,
Kielb, and Lin (2010) found that there are an association between absenteeism of
student and unfavorable school setting conditions. In addition, some researches
argued that students’ attitude and motivation for learning was a key factor in student
absenteeism (Devadoss & Foltz, 1996; Gump, 2006; Gökyer, 2012; Kottasz, 2005;
Marburger, 2001; Paisey & Paisey, 2004). For example, Kottasz (2005) found that
student with low motivation are absent more than student with high motivation level.
Schwartz, Radcliffe, and Barakat (2009) reported that absenteeism negatively
related to future-oriented academic goals. Watkins and Watkins (1994) found that
student absenteeism was predicted by academic failure, low school effort and
previous grades. Another group authors argued that students’ attitude towards
teacher and school play important role in school absenteeism (Adıgüzel & Karadaş,
2013; Attwood & Croll, 2006; Gökyer, 2012; Pehlivan, 2006; Veenstra, Lindenberg,
Tinga, & Ormel, 2010; Wilkins, 2008). For example, Adıgüzel and Karadaş (2013)
found that student with high level of absenteeism reported negative attitudes towards
school. Attwood and Croll (2006) found that students’ negative attitude to teachers is
related to school absenteeism. As a result, school absenteeism has a complex
nature that includes risk factors associated with personal, academic, family, school
environment, and social variables.Because of absenteeism has a complex nature,
the consequences of high level school absenteeism can be detrimental for students.
In the other words, the absenteeism among high school students can lead to more
negative effect such as low academic performance and many social problems. In
regarding relationship between student absenteeism and academic achievement,
Epstein and Sheldon (2002) stated that student with absenteeism miss opportunities
to learn the material that enables them to succeed later in school and; fall behind
their classmates in academic achievement. In this notion, previous studies has
revealed that student absenteeism is related academic failure and academic
performance (Adıgüzel & Karadaş, 2013; Altınkurt, 2008; Gottfried, 2009; Klem &
Connell, 2004; Korir, Charo, Ogichi, & Thinguri, 2014; McCluskey, Bynum, &
Putchin, 2004; Moonie, Streling, Figgs, & Castro, 2008; Nichols, 2003; Morrissey,
Hutchison, & Winsler, 2014; Yakovlev & Kinney, 2008). In addition some authors
believed that level of academic achievement lead school absenteeism (Devadoss &
Foltz 2001; Watkins & Watkins, 1994; Wayt, 1990). Student absenteeism is also
associated with social problems. In this notion, Smink and Reimer (2005) stated that
student with absenteeism often engage in high-risk behaviors that lead to referral to
the juvenile justice system. Indeed, research has revealed that student absenteeism
is related to juvenile delinquency (McCray, 2006; McCluskey et al., 2004; Smink &
Reimer, 2005). Previous studies noticed that there is strong relationship between
student absenteeism and school dropout (Battin-Pearson et al., 2000; Alexander et
al., 2001 as cited in Tanner-Smith & Wilson, 2013, p. 469). In conclusion, student
absenteeism impacts not only students’ educational progress but also affects their
social development.The Current StudyWhen examining the related literature, plenty
of studies take place about the reasons and effects of student absenteeism in
abroad. However, in our country, this issue is not taken into account enough. In
addition, it is important note that the variables taken into consideration in this study
were examined separately by previous studies. On the other hand, integrated
examination of these factors in a single study may provide us the bene cial
information about the nature of relationship among these variables. In consequence,
the aim of this study is to examine relationship between personal factors (academic
self-perception, attitudes towards teacher and school, motivation and goal valuation),
family characteristics (parents’ educational level and income), student absenteeism
and academic achievement in structural equation model. Within personal factors,
previous studies have found associations between student absenteeism, academic
self-perception (Corville-Smith, Ryan, Adams, & Dalicandro, 1998), motivation
(Moore, Armstrong, & Pearson, 2008), attitudes towards teacher and school
(Attwood & Croll, 2006; Valiente, Lemery-Chalfant, Swanson, & Reiser, 2008). In
addition previous studies have also found that these personal factors were related
with academic achievement (McCoach & Siegle, 2003). These studies reported
students with negative academic self-perception, negative attitude towards teacher
and school, and lower level of motivation had high rate of absenteeism. Thus, it is
hypothesis that personal factors would be predictor of previous and current
absenteeism, and academic achievement (H1). Student absenteeism is also related
with family factors. Previous studies found link between

Student absenteeism, academic achievement (Hortaçsu, 1995), parents’ education

level (Henry, 2007) and socioeconomic status family (Ingul et al., 2012). The
common ndings of these studies were students from low level SES and education
of family had high rate of school absence and low level of academic achievement. It
is hypothesis that family factors would be predictor of previous and current
absenteeism, and academic achievement (H2). Finally, the different views exist on
the relationships between absenteeism and academic achievement. Some authors
noted that students who attend school regularly have higher academic achievement
than students with high absences (e.g. Klem & Connell, 2004). The other group
authors believed that student with low level of academic achievement were more
likely to have a higher rate of school absence (Devadoss & Foltz, 2001). It may be
expected that there is a reciprocal relationship between academic achievement and
student absenteeism. In other words, while student absenteeism may affect
academic achievement, academic achievement may affect student absenteeism as
well. Thus, it is hypothesis that previous absenteeism would predict previous
academic achievement in turn previous academic achievement would predict current
absenteeism.

Reference:

https://www.researchgate.net/publication/307088341_The_School_Absenteeism_am
ong_High_School_Students_Contributing_Factors

https://www.academia.edu/35691551/Chapter_2_REVIEW_OF_RELATED_LITERA
TURE_AND_STUDIES