Causes of Absenteeism Among the selected Fourth Year Students of Marcelo H.

del Pilar National High School for SY 2012 201!

Abstract
Student absenteeism is a perennial problem of all teachers. Every curriculum year, it is one of the problems that they have to contend to. It is not only the teachers who are concerned with this problem but the school administrators as well. This action research examined the causes of absenteeism of the Fourth Year Students arcelo !. "el #ilar $ational !i%h School for school year &'(&)&'(*. +hen they were in third Year, they were the class which has the most number of absentees everyday. This was %athered from the data contained in the daily attendance record bein% passed around and ,ept by the teacher)leader-s office everyday and is re%ularly filled up by the teachers in each %rade level for the whole year. $ow that they are in .rade /I, some of them are still fre0uent absentees. It is for this reason that this research was underta,en. It has the end in view of understandin% and correctin% such undesirable pupil behavior. 1ased on the findin%s, methods2strate%ies were recommended to minimi3e, if not eradicate absenteeism or truancy.

Introduction
Absenteeism, accordin% to erriam)+ebster dictionary means chronic absence. In the context of the school it is the habitual or intentional failure from %oin% to school. It cannot be denied that every now and then, students may miss some school activities and lessons. 1ut it becomes a problem if the student will be away from school for many days. .oin% to school re%ularly is crucially important for a student-s education and social s,ills. 4hronic absentee students are placed at a disadvanta%e both socially and academically. They miss out on critical sta%es of social interaction and development with their peers and at the same time impacts ne%atively on their academic pro%ress. 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 alarmin% problem for administrators, teachers, parents and the society in %eneral, as well as for the pupils in particular. 5naccepted absence has a ne%ative effect on peer relationship which could cause absence. Accordin% to alcolm, +ilson, "avidson and 6ir, 7&''*8 teachers identified effects of absenteeism on children as9 academic under) achievement, difficulty in ma,in% friends which could lead to boredom, loss

of confidence. Also, prolon%ed absence can have deleterious effects for the child in later life. Students who are absent from school are at the %reatest ris, of droppin% out of school early. Absenteeism also affects the teacher-s ability present class wor, in a se0uential and or%ani3ed way. This can have an effect on the pro%ress of all the students attendin% the class. The families of habitual absentees can also suffer. For a poverty)stric,en family, it may mean a continuation of the poverty and unemployment cycle that may run in the family. This also contributes to family conflicts. The society also suffers as the children of school a%e han% around in the streets. They can be found :ust %allivantin% around. Since they have nothin% to do, they resort to petty crimes li,e stealin% other people-s belon%in%s and properties. ;thers may resort to dru% addiction and other behavior that is detrimental to society. Thus, if the student ,eeps on bein% away from school for too lon%, he may %row up to be a liability of his community and of his country as a whole. It is the aim of every school to lessen, if not eradicate absenteeism amon% its students. ;ne way of addressin% this problem is to identify the causes why students become truant from school. ;nce they are sin%led out, understood and analy3ed, specific actions and measures can be underta,en. This will eventually redound to the better performance of the students, teachers and the school in %eneral. It is in this context that this action research was underta,en, that is, to identify the causes why the .rade /I students in this school absent themselves from their classes.

;b:ectives of the Study

This study aimed to determine the causes of absenteeism amon% the Fourth year students of arcelo !. del #ilar $ational !i%h School. Specifically, it sou%ht to answer the followin% 0uestions9 (. +hat are the common causes why pupils are absent from their classes< &. +hich amon% these causes is the most prevalent< a. Physical factors a.(. !ouse is far from the school. a. &. It is unsafe to %o to school. a. *. $obody accompanies me in %oin% to school since it is far. b. Health factors

b. (. I have a toothache. b. &. y stomach hurts.

b. *. I have a headache b. =. I-m down with fever2flu. b. >. I have other diseases li,e diarrhea, etc. c. Personal Attitude c. (. I am not interested in my studies. c. &. I feel la3y. c. *. y friends influence me to be absent from my classes.

c. =. I can-t concentrate in my studies. c. >. I didn?t wa,e up early. c. @. I did not study2ma,e my assi%nments the ni%ht before. c. A. I %ot fond of playin% computer %ames. d. Teacher-related reasons d. (. y teacher scolded me.

d. &. I can-t understand my teacher-s lessons. d. *. I don-t li,e my teacher. e. Classroom atmosphere e. (. ;ur classroom is hot and uncomfortable. e. &. It-s noisy inside our classroom. e. *. A classmate2classmates bully me. =. I have no friends in our class. f. Home-related factors f. (. f. &. f. *. y parents as, me to be absent from class. y parents 0uarreled. y parents don-t care about my studies.

f. =. I do many household chores. f. >. I have no money to buy snac,s in school. f. @. +e have no food2I did not eat. *. +hat strate%ies can be proposed to minimi3e, if not totally eradicate absenteeism amon% thepupils<

Scope and "elimitation of the Study

This study was limited to the causes of absenteeism amon% the Fourth year Students of arcelo !. del #ilar $ational !i%hSchool for school year &'(&)&'(*. All of the sixty 7@'8 Fourth year pupils were made as respondents. They were as,ed to accomplish a 0uestionnaire for the purpose.

ethodolo%y
This study used the descriptive survey method. A 0uestionnaire was used to determine the causes of absenteeism amon% the students where they rated each situation2reason2cause presented. All the data %athered from the respondents were or%ani3ed, tallied, tabulated and presented in a series of tables and %raphs. Fre0uency counts, percenta%e wei%ht values and wei%hted mean were used in the analysis and interpretation of data. The responses of the pupils were analy3ed usin% a >)point Bi,ert Scale with the followin% e0uivalent9 1 -Never 2 -Rarely -!ometimes " -#ery $ften % -Al&ays It is be to be noted that the 0uestionnaire %iven to the students were %iven in their native dialect in order for them to understand better what they were answerin%, thus, %ivin% more chances of accurate responses. The roundin% of fi%ures was done to si%nify classification of responses. The measure of central tendency specifically the mean was used to determine the avera%e value of response or response avera%e of the pupils.

Findin%s on the causes of student absenteeism

A. Ph"sical Factors Amon% the items cited, the distance of their house to the school and the dan%er posed by wal,in% to the school has the same response avera%e or a mean of (.'=. It means that both are not reasons for them to be absent from school. #. Health Fever2flu is the most common reason of students for bein% absent. It has the hi%hest response avera%e of &.=. It is followed by headache with an avera%e response of (.@A. ;ther diseases li,e diarrhea come in third with (.@( avera%e responses. The least common reason for them for bein% absent is stomachache with (.*C avera%es. C. Personal Attitude That the student doesn-t wa,e up early is the most common reason why he2she is absent. This account for (.C( mean. Another reason commonly cited is that they can-t concentrate on their studies and that they were not able to study their lessons. This resulted from (.=> and (.*A mean respectively. Feelin% la3y and playin% computer %ames also ,eep them away from school. The former has a response avera%e of (.&@ while the latter has (.&&. $. %eacher &elated +hen the students are scolded for their bad behavior by the teacher, this tends to ma,e them be absent from their classes. It has the hi%hest avera%e response of (.*D while the reason that they can-t understand their lessons follow close behind with (.*& mean. '. Classroom Atmos(here The hi%hest mean of (.AA was accorded to noise inside the classroom which means that this is the primary reason why they tend to be truant. 1ullyin% by fellow student follows with (.*C response avera%e. F. Home &elated E y parents as, me to be absent from schoolF reason resulted to the hi%hest mean of (.>&. !ousehold chores come second with a response avera%e of (.=A. The other reasons ran%ed from (.'D to (.*C include havin% no money to spend for snac,s and other small expenses in school, no brea,fast2food, and that their parents 0uarreled. The response avera%e or the mean was computed by multiplyin% the percenta%e of responses by the e0uivalent value of each fre0uency and then addin% them all. e.%.7> x 'G8 H 7= x *G8 H 7* x (*G8 H 7& x AG8 H 7( x AAG8 I (.=&

4onclusions
Amon% all the causes presented, health is the primary reason why students are absent from their classes. Flu2fever is the leadin% culprit in this cate%ory. ;ral health, which accordin% to the "epartment of Education is the main reason why pupils are absent, is :ust third amon% the reasons cited in the said cate%ory by the Fourth year students studyin% at arcelo !.del #ilar national !i%h school sy &'(&)&'(*. 4lassroom atmosphere, personal attitude, teacher factor and home)related reasons follow in that order. The least reason they %ive is related to their physical environment. Considering all the factors)categories cited* the to( 10 reasons of student absenteeism are as follo+s, 1- Flu)fe.er 2- Can/t +a0e u( earl" !- Noise inside the classroom 1- Headache 2- 3ther diseases such as diarrhea 4- Parents as0ing them to be absent 5- Pre occu(ation +ith household chores 6.!- %oothache 6.!- No mone" to bu" snac0s in school 6.!- #ullied b" a classmate)classmates

Jecommendations
The followin% are recommended to limit the students- absenteeism and prevent their occurrences9 (.Educate the students on how to ta,e care of their overall well)bein%. Emphasis should be %iven to oral health and over)all body wellness. Teach them how to avoid communicable diseases as well. .ive them information on how to properly wash their hands which is the main source of %erms and bacteria amon% children. Bet them develop proper eatin% habits. Since most of the children in the school come from poor families, point out to them the cheap but healthy foods. As, them to pass on this information to their parents.

&.Time and a%ain, classroom atmosphere should be made conducive to learnin%. $oise) reduction amon% students should be a priority as this really affects them. ;lder children li,e the .rade /I students tend to have louder voices so it should be inculcated in them how to spea, softly and without needin% to shout. The ,ey 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 it will be in modulated voices so as not to impair the hearin% of the students due to too much noise when doin% classroom activities. Include proper room ventilation and li%htin% so as not to distract pupils from their learnin%. *."urin% parents conferences, inform the parents about the benefit of ,eepin% their children in school at all times when there are classes. Emphasi3e to them that if they ,eep on as,in% their children to be absent, this will set a bad precedence to the child. If the parents themselves will be the one to ,eep them away from school, they will thin, that household concerns are more important than their education, thus the children will ta,e for %ranted their comin% to school re%ularly and suffer the conse0uences of it. =.Althou%h it can-t be avoided that the teacher %ets peeved with pupils- bad behavior, he2she should refrain from scoldin% the errin% pupils. As much as possible, remind them of their wron% doin% in a most diplomatic manner. Self)control should be a virtue which the teacher should practice in the course of her teachin% everyday of the school wee,. >..ive extra attention to those who are left behind in the lessons. Tap the bri%ht pupils to teach their slower classmates, for all we ,now, these slow pupils mi%ht learn2understand better if persons of their same a%e are the ones explainin% to them. In other words, cooperative learnin% should be practiced in the teachin%)learnin% process. ;nce a slow student fully understands the lesson, he2she can ,eep up with his2her other classmates, thus self)confidence is %ained. This way, they will be more motivated to come to school re%ularly. @.Imbibe in the mind of the children that their academic success is very much dependent on their attitude towards school. otivate them so they will be loo,in% forward to attendin% their classes re%ularly. For those who wa,e up late, encoura%e them to have an alarm cloc,. "o not scold the pupils who come late. .ive them a time)table to chan%e their sleepin% habit for the better. In line will this, studyin% before retirin% to bed instead of watchin% T/ should be prioriti3ed and instilled to the pupils.

Fre7uenc" of &es(onses
Al+a"s 82A. Ph"sical Factor (. ;ur house is far from the school. &. It is unsafe to %o to school. *. $obody accompanies me in %oin% to school since it is far. #. Health (. I have a toothache. &. y stomach hurts. *. I have a headache =. I?m down with fever2flu. >. I have other diseases li,e diarrhea, etc. C.Personal Attitude (. I am not interested in my studies. &. I feel la3y. *. y friends influence me to be absent from my classes. =. I can?t concentrate in my studies. >. I didn?t wa,e up early. @. I did not study2ma,e my assi%nments the ni%ht before. A. I %ot fond of playin% computer %ames. $. %eacher &elated Factors (. y teacher scolded ' ' ' 9er" Sometimes &arel" 3ften 8!8281' ' ' ( ( ' ' ' ' Ne.er 81>C >C @'

' ' ' ' '

& ' ( > (

D (' (= && C

= = C &> (>

=@ =@ *@ D *>

' ' ' ' ' ' '

' ' ' ' > & (

' > & C (@ > >

' @ ( C D A '

@' =C >A =& *( =@ >=

'

=@

Al+a"s 82me. &. I can?t understand my teacher?s lessons. *. I don?t li,e my teacher. '. Classroom atmos(here (.;ur classroom is hot and uncomfortable. &. It?s noisy inside our classroom. *. A classmate2classmates bully me. =. I have no friends in our class. F. Home &elated Factors (. y parents as, me to be absent from class. &. y parents 0uarreled. *. y parents don?t care about my studies. =. I?m too pre) occupied with household chores. >. I have no money to buy snac,s in school. @. +e have no food2I did not eat. ' '

9er" Sometimes &arel" 3ften 8!8281' ' A ' > '

Ne.er 81=D @'

' = ' '

' > ( '

= @ D '

( * = '

>> =& =A @'

' ' ' ( ' '

' ' ' * ( '

(' & ( > D A

(( ( ( > = =

*C >A >D =A =A >C