Action Research on Student

Absenteeism of Grade 9 Section

Zinc in Catarman National High
School.

My pupils as they were having their quarterly exams. If you notice, there are vacant seats which signify the absence
of some pupils. Some frequently absent students even skip important tests.

The Problem of Student Absenteeism

One of the most annoying experiences for teachers like me is when students are absent. We
prepare lesson plans with the objective that 100% of the class will learn from the days classroom
activities, and it is most satisfying when all students are present on that day and the days thereafter
to ensure maximum learning.
Sadly, it is very difficult to achieve perfect attendance. No matter how interesting and well-prepared
my lessons and teaching materials are, there are bound to be students who miss out on the days
activitieswillingly or unwillingly.

I would like to minimize this problem, if not eradicate it completely. That is why I conducted an action
research to understand them better. I wanted a more accurate analysis of why some of my students
are perennial absentees, so I could formulate plans, projects, and programs to minimize their
absences. I hope that it also enlightens you. Even if you are not an educator, you may be able to
help a student to stay in school.

Causes of Absenteeism
Grade VI Students of Zapote Elementary School School Year 2010-2011
According to Merriam-Webster dictionary, absenteeism is "chronic absence." In the context of
school, it is the habitual or intentional failure to attend school. While every student may miss some
school activities now and then, absence becomes a problem when the student is away from school
for many days.
Going to school regularly is crucially important for a students education and social skills. Chronically
absent students are at a disadvantage both socially and academically. They miss out on critical
stages of social interaction and development with their peers, while simultaneously limiting their
academic progress. This can result in 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, society in general,
and pupils in particular. Unaccepted absences have a negative effect on peer relationships, which
can cause further absences. According to Malcolm, Wilson, Davidson and Kirk (2003) teachers
identified the effects of absenteeism on children as:

academic under-achievement.

difficulty in making friends which could lead to boredom and loss of confidence.

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 teachers ability to present classwork in a sequential and organized
way. This can have an effect on the progress of all the students in the class.
Families of habitually absent students 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.
Society also suffers when school-age children are not in school. These children may hang out on the
streets. Since they have nothing to do, they resort to petty crimes like stealing other peoples
belongings and property. Others may become addicted to drugs or engage in other destructive
behavior. Thus, if a student keeps away from school for too long, he may grow up to be a liability to
his community and 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 of truancy. Once they are singled out, understood,
and analyzed, these issues may be addressed with specific actions and measures. This will
eventually result in 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.

This action research examined the causes of absenteeism among grade VI students of Zapote
Elementary School during the 2010-2011 school year. This class had the most daily absences while
in grade V. This data was gathered from the daily attendance record that is kept by the teacherleaders office every day and regularly filled out by grade level teachers.
Once the students entered grade VI, some of them were still frequent absentees. It is for this reason
that this research was undertaken. It has the goal of understanding and correcting such undesirable
pupil behavior. Based on the findings, methods and strategies were recommended to minimize, if not
eradicate absenteeism or truancy.

Scope and Methodology

All of the sixty grade VI pupils were asked to complete a questionnaire. They rated various
situations, reasons, and causes for being absent from school.
All the the data was then organized, tallied, tabulated, and presented in a series of tables and
graphs. Frequency counts, percentage weight values and weighted mean were used in the analysis
and interpretation of data.
The responses were analyzed using a five-point Likert scale with the following equivalent:

1. never

2. rarely

3. sometimes

4. very often

5. always

It should be noted that the questionnaire was given to students in their native dialect to increase the
chance of accurate responses.
Figures were rounded signify classification of responses. The measure of central tendency,
specifically the mean, was used to determine the average value of response or response average of
the pupils.

Study Questionnaire: What Are the Most Common Causes of Absenteeism?

Physical
Factors

Personal
Attitude

TeacherRelated
Reasons

Classroom
Environment

Home
Factors

I am not
Our classroom My parents
house is too far
My teacher
interested in
is hot and told me to
from school
scolded me.
my studies.
uncomfortable. be absent.
I can't
it is unsafe to
understand It's noisy in our My parents
I feel lazy.
go to school
my teacher's
classroom. quarreled.
lessons.
no one
My parents
accompanies My friends tell
I don't like my
Classmates don't care
me to school
me to be
teacher.
bully me.
about my
because of
absent.
studies.
distance
health factors
(toothache,
I do too
I can't
stomach ache,
I have no friends
many
concentrate
headache,
in my class. household
on my studies
fever/flu,
chores.
diarrhea
I have no
I didn't wake
money to
up in time.
buy snacks
at school.
I did not study
We have no
or do my
food. I did
homework.
not eat.
I was playing
computer

Physical
Factors

Personal
Attitude

TeacherRelated
Reasons

Classroom
Environment

Home
Factors

games.

Findings
A. Physical Factors
Among the items cited, the distance of their house to the school and the danger posed by walking to
the school has the same response average, or a mean of 1.04. This means that both are not
reasons for them to be absent from school.
B. Health
Fever/flu is the most common reason of students for being absent. It has the highest response
average of 2.4. It is followed by headache, with an average response of 1.67. Other diseases like
diarrhea come in third with 1.61 average responses. The least common reason for them for being
absent is stomach ache, with 1.39 averages.
C. Personal Attitude
That the student doesnt wake up early enough is the most common reason why he/she is absent.
This account for 1.91 mean. Another reason commonly cited is that they cant concentrate on their
studies and that they were not able to study their lessons. This resulted from 1.45 and 1.37 mean
respectively. Feeling lazy and playing computer games also keep them away from school. The
former has a response average of 1.26 while the latter has 1.22.
D. Teacher-related
When the students are scolded for their bad behavior by the teacher, this tends to make them be
absent from their classes. It has the highest average response of 1.38 while the reason that they
cant understand their lessons follow close behind with 1.32 mean.
E. Classroom Atmosphere
The highest mean of 1.77 was accorded to noise inside the classroom which means that this is the
primary reason why they tend to be truant. Bullying by fellow students follows with 1.39 response
average.
F. Home-related
Students who say their parents asked them to be absent resulted in the highest mean of 1.52.
Household chores come second with a response average of 1.47. The other reasons ranged from
1.08 to 1.39, including not having money to spend for snacks and other small expenses in school, no
breakfast/food, and that their parents quarreled.

The response average or the mean was computed by multiplying the percentage of responses by
the equivalent value of each frequency and then adding them all.
e.g.(5 x 0%) + (4 x 3%) + (3 x 13%) + (2 x 7%) + (1 x 77%) = 1.42

Conclusions

Among all the causes presented, health is the primary reason why students are absent from
their classes. Flu/fever is the leading culprit in this category. Oral health, which according to the
Department of Education is the main reason why pupils are absent, is just third among the
reasons cited by the responding students.

Classroom atmosphere, personal attitude, teacher factor and home-related reasons follow in
that order. The least reason they give is related to their physical environment.

Of all the factors/categories cited, the top 10 reasons of student absenteeism are as follows:
1) Flu/fever
2) Cant wake up early
3) Noise inside the classroom
4) Headache
5) Other diseases such as diarrhea
6) Parents asking them to be absent
7) Preoccupation with household chores
8.3) Toothache
8.3) No money to buy snacks in school
8.3) Bullied by a classmate/classmates

Frequency of Responses
Always
(5)
A. Physical Factor
1. Our house is far
from the school.
2. It is unsafe to go to
school.
3. Nobody
accompanies me in

Very
Sometimes Rarely
Often
(3)
(2)
(4)

Never
(1)

59

59

60

Always
(5)
going to school since
it is far.
B. Health
1. I have a toothache.
2. My stomach hurts.
3. I have a headache
4. I'm down with
fever/flu.
5. I have other
diseases like diarrhea,
etc.
C.Personal Attitude
1. I am not interested
in my studies.
2. I feel lazy.
3. My friends influence
me to be absent from
my classes.
4. I can't concentrate
in my studies.
5. I didn't wake up
early.
6. I did not study/make
my assignments the
night before.
7. I got fond of playing
computer games.
D. Teacher-Related
Factors
1. My teacher scolded
me.
2. I can't understand
my teacher's lessons.
3. I don't like my
teacher.
E. Classroom
atmosphere
1.Our classroom is hot
and uncomfortable.
2. It's noisy inside our
classroom.
3. A

Very
Sometimes Rarely
Often
(3)
(2)
(4)

Never
(1)

0
0
0

2
0
1

8
10
14

4
4
9

46
46
36

22

25

15

35

60

49

57

42

16

31

46

54

46

48

60

55

42

47

Always
(5)
classmate/classmates
bully me.
4. I have no friends in
our class.
F. Home-Related
Factors
1. My parents ask me
to be absent from
class.
2. My parents
quarreled.
3. My parents don't
care about my studies.
4. I'm too preoccupied with
household chores.
5. I have no money to
buy snacks in school.
6. We have no food/I
did not eat.

Very
Sometimes Rarely
Often
(3)
(2)
(4)

Never
(1)

60

10

11

39

57

58

47

47

59

What Strategies Can Minimize or Eradicate

Absenteeism?
In order to limit or eliminate absenteeism, it is recommended that educators:
1.

educate the students on how to take care of their overall well-being.Emphasis should
be given to oral health and overall body wellness. Teach them how to avoid communicable
diseases. Give them information on how to properly wash their hands, which is the main source
of germs and bacteria among children. Let them develop proper eating habits. Since most of
the children in the school come from poor families, point out to them the cheap but healthy
foods. Ask them to pass on this information to their parents.

2.

ensure that classroom atmosphere is conducive to learning. Noise-reduction among

students should be a priority. Older children, like grade VI students, tend to have louder voices
so they should be taught how to speak softly and without needing to shout. The key here is
discipline.The teacher must also see to it that the students are comfortable and have no other
concerns except the lesson at hand. There should be a lively interaction between the teacher
and the students, but the teacher should see to it that noise is modulated so as not to distract
pupils from their learning.

3.

inform parents about the benefit of keeping their children in school.Emphasize to them
that if they keep on asking their children to be absent, this will set a bad example to the child. If
the parents themselves are keeping the child away from school, they must believe that
household concerns are more important than their education.

4.

refrain from scolding misbehaving pupils. As much as possible, remind them of their
wrong doing in a most diplomatic manner. Self-control should be a virtue which the teacher
should practice in the course of her teaching everyday of the school week.

5.

give extra attention to those who are left behind in the lessons. Tap the bright pupils to
teach their slower classmates. In other words, cooperative learning should be practiced in the
teaching-learning process. Once a slow student fully understands the lesson, he/she can keep
up with his/her other classmates, thus self-confidence is gained.

6.

emphasize that academic success is very much dependent on student attitude

towards school. Motivate them so they will be looking forward to attending their classes
regularly. For those who wake up late, encourage them to get an alarm clock. Do not scold the
pupils who come late. Give them a time-table to change their sleeping habits and to study
before bed instead of watching TV.

Do you agree with my findings that the number 1 cause of student absenteeism is health
factor?

Yes

No

See results without voting

Absenteeism and Dropping Out

I would like to caution all the parents out there: You may or may not know that your children are
always absent from school. One of the rules I implement in my class is to require an excuse from a
parent or guardian for every child's absence. Many of them comply, but some students get other
people to write an excuse letter for them. When this happens, I call on the parents and let them
know about it. It is only then that they become aware of the childs absence from my class. Wwhen
they found out about it, some of them scold their child in front of me. This gives me an insight into
my students life at home.
But the most disturbing thing is that habitually absent students eventually drop out of my class. This
happens to all my colleagues. We do our best to prevent drop-outs, but it is beyond our control. We
can only hope that these students will come back the next year, change their ways, and that that
whatever was hindering their studies is behind them.

Student absenteeism