Students Absenteeism

INTRODUCTION Absenteeism, according to Merriam- Webster dictionary means chronic absence. In the context of the school it is the habitual or intentional failure from going to school. It cannot be denied that every now and then, students may miss some school activities and lessons. But it becomes a problem if the student will be away from school for many days. Chronic absentee students are placed at a disadvantage both socially and academically. They miss out on critical stages of social interaction and development with their peers and at the same time impacts negatively on their academic progress. This can result to 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, and the society in general, as well as for the pupils in particular. Unaccepted absence has a negative effect on peer relationship which could cause absence. Also, prolonged absence can have deleterious effects for the child in later life. Students who are absent from the school are at the risk of dropping out of school early. Absenteeism also affects the teacher’s ability present class work in sequential and organized way. This can have an effect on the progress of all the students attending the class. One way of addressing this problem is to identify the causes why students become truant from school. Once they are singled out, understood and analyzed, specific actions and measures can be undertaken. This will eventually redound to the better performance of the students, teachers, and the school in general.

II. Background of the study Jason Caringal is a student who belongs to heteroclass. He is already third year and he is not a shy type and silent student. He tends to sleep when he wants, and commit absences without informing his teachers. He have been absent two days in a week and though he will come to school he seldom participate in school