RESEARCH PAPER

Review of Related Literature and Studies Absenteeism is defined as a period of time when a student does not attend school (Teasley, 2004). Students who do not attend school will generally fall behind their classmates in their academic success (Ford & Sutphen, 1996). They have fewer opportunities to learn the materials that will help them to succeed (Epstein & Sheldon, 2002). The focus of student absenteeism ranges from early schooling until adolescent years (Ford & Sutphen, 1996). It means that absenteeism in a student starts from his/her younger years. In an educational institution, absenteeism is a perennial problem ( Buccat and Cuntapay, 2006).

Is truancy the same as absenteeism? Truancy is like absenteeism, but truancy is an unexcused absence from school or classes about which parents typically do not know. Truancy in students has been found to stem from an influence of peers, relations with teachers, the way the curriculum is delivered to the student, family aspects, bullying and others (Reid, 2005). The main difference between truancy and absenteeism is that truancy is unexcused and unlawful absence from school without parental knowledge or consent (Teasley, 2004).

Student’s absenteeism has different effects. According to Conie A. Menia (2014), it is an alarming problem for administrators, teachers, parents, and the society, in general, as well as for the students, in particular. Clores (2009) stated that truancy may indicate low performance of teachers, students’ dissatisfaction of the school service, or lack of or poor academic and non- academic structures or policies that address the problems or factors influencing or reinforcing this behavior. Another study ( Savers, D. et al, 2005) says that when a student misses a day of school he/she must have lost the chance to hear others, interpret and analyzing the lessons or joins the interaction within the class. Parents are financially burdened for having their children to stay longer in the school, having to re- enroll them in subjects where they fail due to excessive absences. Missing school is serious business, and its impact on student achievement and drop-out rates has been vastly underestimated, according to a recent report from Johns Hopkins University.
Some researchers have attempted to examine the influence of attendance on academic achievement. In 1923, Odell (1923) reported small, non-significant correlations between attendance and either academic achievement or intellectual development, but significant correlations between attendance and grades awarded by teachers for class work. Finch and Nemzek (1935) reported that school grades were related to student attendance for the 1934 graduating class at one high school in Minneapolis, Minnesota. Kersting (1967) compared attendance records for the 100 highest achieving and 100 lowest achieving students in the junior high school where he was teaching. Comparing these extreme groups, he found significant differences in attendance. These studies show that while there may be a relationship between attendance and achievement, it is very poor attenders whose achievement is low, but no threshold absence rate is defined.
What are really the factors/reasons of student’s absenteeism? There are factors which contribute to students not attending school. Inclement weather and transportation problems are factors to student absenteeism that are often not recognized. Severe weather issues could contribute to a student not being able to leave their home, transportation issues such as the bus not coming to the home, or the car not starting; impact a student’s ability to get to school (Teasley, 2004). Health problems are identified as a major contributor to student absenteeism, whether it is the student’s health issues that are in consideration or family health issues, they prohibit students from attending school. Although students should not come to school when severely sick, often students do not attend school even if they have a small ailment although it would not prohibit the student from learning in the classroom (DeSocio et al., 2007). Other factors such as an unsupportive family environment or lack of community help contribute to absenteeism. Family factors such as “parentally condoned absence, not valuing education, domestic problems, inconsistent to inadequate parenting, and economic deprivation” (Reid, 2005) play a large role in absenteeism. Community attitudes and socio-economic factors put pressures on students which in turn do not encourage the attendance of school each day. Another study states that students who are not motivated will usually decide not to be present in school. In Malaysia, these factors include influence of peers (Mohd. Shubari, 2000; Suseladevy, 2004), fear or dislike of teachers, dislike of certain subjects, thinking that they will fail (Thi, 1994; Supramaniam, 1986), no encouragement from parents or family problems (Mohamad Yatim, 1999), and the school factor (Hussein, 1993; Zainol, 2002; Tan, 2006). All of these factors have resulted in students having no motivation to learn, therefore they turn their attention to hang around at other places or loitering. Research findings have also shown that students who do not support and participate in any school programs or activities are those who are not interested to be in school (She, 2002).

In the study of Balfanz and Byrnes ( 2012) at Johns Hopkins University, they divided the factors/reasons into three broad categories. First is that students do not attend school due to illness, family responsibilities, housing instability, the need to work or involvement with the juvenile justice system. Second, students do not attend school to avoid bullying, unsafe conditions, harassment and embarrassment. Lastly, students do not school because they, or their parents, do not see the value in being there, they have something else they would rather do, or nothing stops them from skipping school.

Based on several researches conducted, the rate of absenteeism among students increases annually. As a result, this problem will more or less adversely affect the school’s reputation.

II. Methodology and Data Analysis

Respondents and Locale
The study involved 20 college students of Caraga State University (5 students in every college). The 20 respondents are composed of 10 males and 10 females.

Procedure This study made use of the descriptive design which worked on the description, analysis, and interpretation of situations in the problem. A survey questionnaire was used as an instrument. The researchers distributed the questionnaires to the respondents. Upon retrieving the questionnaires, the researchers tabulated the collected data and then give interpretation and analysis from the results.