Chapter 1

INTRODUCTION

One of the most frustrating situations to most educators and classroom teachers is when

they try so hard to provide the education that students need but these students are always absent.

Teachers prepare lesson plans, colorful instructional materials and all other things that will help

the students learn conducively but sadly, some of the students are always either tardy or absent.

In present times, there is a difficulty in achieving perfect attendance because no matter how

interesting and well-prepared teaching materials are, there are students who are likely to miss

out on the day’s activities- willingly or unwillingly. Absenteeism also affects the teacher’s

ability to present classes in a sequential and organized way. This can have an effect on the

progress of all the students in class. Moreover, the teacher will have a limited time to be in

contact with students with difficulty in their lessons because most of them may be absent.

Merriam-Webster dictionary defines absenteeism as “chronic absence” or, in the context

of school, the habitual or intentional failure to attend classes. Due to these absences, students

become absent from school activities and exams. Absence, hence, becomes a problem when the

student is away from school for several days.

Going to school regularly is crucial and important for a student’s education and social

skills. Students who are frequently absent are a disadvantage both socially and academically.

They miss out on critical stages of social interaction and development with peers, and at the

same time limiting their academic progress. This may result in low self-esteem, social isolation,

and dissatisfaction that could hasten non-attendance in the first place.

 School absenteeism is an alarming problem not only for School Administrators, teachers

and parents but also to society in general. 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 is also the topmost problem in Senior High School within Esteban Abada
Elementary School. Senior High School within Esteban Abada Elementary School today has a
population of students 153 in grade 11, 42 faculty members and 11 staff. It is located at the
heart of Bansalangin St. Brgy Veterans Village , Project 7 , Quezon City. The number of Grade
11( ABM, HUMSS, ICT, P.A) students reached to 153 as the total population. But sadly, almost
half of the population of the Grade 11 ABM and ICT students are always absent from class.

The researcher handles Grade 11 of (ABM, HUMSS, ICT. PA) sections, so, she finds
absenteeism as the major problem in relation to their academic performance. Even the advisers
are almost giving up the hope that there is a solution to this problem. Home Visitation is only
effective after the teacher has visited the absentee student’s home and having approached their
respective parents, but a few weeks after the visitation, the students continue being absent, hence,
missing out on learning what they should have gained if only they were present in class. The
researcher herself has been witness to this condition. Hence, there is a need to something else,
something that will motivate the students to go to school and attend classes regularly.
 SIGNIFICANCE OF THE STUDY

The result of the findings of this study will benefit the following individuals in their own

respective fields:

The Student. When a person will know the effects of his actions and decisions he or she

has done, he or she will look for ways to lessen the damage done. This study is aimed at raising

awareness of the impact of chronic absenteeism to the lives of the students who commit such acts

by directing the students to do better than what they already are doing. To students who are

chronic absentees, they will be given a new opportunity to go back to school and may decline the

number of the ratio of absenteeism.

The Teachers. Being a teacher means that one must assume the role of the second parent

to the students he or she is in contact with students. However, students who commit chronic

absenteeism are one of the stressors to teachers. This study will be helpful to teachers who

encounter the phenomenon of absenteeism among students. The teacher will be able to devise

intervention programs to reduce the number of students who commit chronic absenteeism. This

study may also become a guide to teachers as they can implement or improve the interventions

recommended by the researcher for future use.

The School Administrator. The School Administration is the primary people affected

upon knowing the effects of absenteeism. Their concerns can then be discussed with the student

body and so as the student body sharing their troubles to the administration. Through a

conference the administration might be able to arrive to solutions which can be applicable o

different situations.
 The DepEd Authorities. The Department of Education main goal is to be able to

produce productive citizens of the community. Absenteeism is one of the factors that disturb the

stableness of this goal. When the results are evident, the DepEd authorities together with the

different school administration may arrive to a step by step planning to kill the rodents of

absenteeism.

The Parent. The parents are the direct and the baseline in communication in relation to

their child’s regular truancy. Knowing the impact of absenteeism to their child’s learning

performance, a parent will be at the concerns of convincing their child to attend school and

protect them from the primary causes of their absences.

STATEMENT OF THE PROBLEM

Since middle of june up to present, there is about 30% or 65 of the Grade 11 – ABM, PA,

HUMSS and ICT students in Senior High School in Esteban who are always absent and/or late in

attending to their subsequent classes. Some of them are absent during the morning classes and

come to school but some of them are always absent. The sample of this study is the number of

students who are habitually absent, or 40 are always absent (ABM, HUMSS, PA and ICT) from

June of 2018 up to present.

This study will answer the questions as follows:

1. What is the common reason why student absent in proposed Lucrecia Kasilag Senior

High School?

2. What is the possible effect of being absent in school

3. How many times the student is absent in a weeks / months?

4. How do student cope with mist quizzes or activity in school?

 5. What could be student motivation be always present in school?

Scope and Delimitation

The study will be conducted within the classes of sections Diamond, Amethyst, Sapphire and

Emerald. This group of student belongs to the K+ 12 Curriculum Program of Senior High Within

Esteban Abada Elementary School . The total of this group of students for these sections from

Grade 11 – ABM, HUMSS, ICT, and PA is 153, with 72 who are male and 75 who are female.

Definition of Terms Used

There following are the terms used in this study. These terms need to be defined to clarify the

meaning of the words included in this study:

Absenteeism, according to Casio (2003) is “any failure of a student to report in class.

Merriam-Webster dictionary defines absenteeism as “chronic absence” or, in the context

of school, the habitual or intentional failure to attend classes.

Absenteeism in school is the habit of staying away from school without providing a

genuine or any reason for not attending classes. Absenteeism is a truant behavior that

negatively affects the performance among students.

Absenteeism- In this study, absenteeism is considered chronic if a student incurs 3

absences within one school week and 40 days within one school year based on DEPED

Order # 88, S. 2010 (See School Form 1 and School Form 2 Rules on Absenteeism,

attached as “Appendix 1”).

Family problem. Family problems can affect student school attendance. This includes

financial support (the family can’t afford education or education is not a primary

necessity), differing community attitudes towards education (the people that surround the
students’ home and within it education is not given importance), transportation (the

family might live in a very rural community where in transportation cannot easily reach.)

Grade 11- In this study, some selected Grade 11 students are the students belonging to

the K + 12 Program of the Department of Education, currently enrolled in Senior High

School within Esteban Abada Elementary School. They are the respondents of this study

who are taught English by the proponent of the study.