CAUSES AND SOLUTIONS FOR ABSENTEEISM

OF FRESHMEN STUDENTS OF ISABELA STATE UNIVERSITY

_____________________

A Case Study
Presented to
Mr. Reymundo Reyson
Instructor I
ISABELA STATE UNIVERSITY
Echague, Isabela

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In Partial Fulfillment
of the Requirements for the Degree
BACHELOR OF SECONDARY EDUCATION
Major in Technology and Livelihood Education



By
MONIZA RONAS
1
st
Semester of 2014 2015
IDENTIFICATION OF THE PROBLEM

Introduction
Absenteeism, according to Merriam-Webster dictionary means chronic absence or continuing,
habitual or intentional failure from going to school , in the context of education. It is not presume for a
student to perfect his attendance but it raise a problem hes away from school for many days. Going to
school regularly is crucially important for a students education and social skills. Chronic absentee
students are placed at a disadvantage both socially and academically.. 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 students in particular. Unaccepted absence has a negative effect on peer
relationship which could cause absence. According to Malcolm, Wilson, Davidson and Kirk (2003)
teachers identified effects of absenteeism on children as: academic under- achievement, difficulty in
making friends which could lead to boredom, loss of confidence. Also, 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 present class work in a
sequential and organized way. This can have an effect on the progress of all the students attending the
class. The families of habitual absentees 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. The society also suffers as the children of school age hang around in the streets. They
can be found just gallivanting around. Since they have nothing to do, they resort to petty crimes like
stealing other peoples belongings and properties. Others may resort to drug addiction and other
behavior that is detrimental to society. Thus, if the student keeps on being away from school for too
long, he may grow up to be a liability of his community and of his country as a whole.
In the setting of Philippines education, research on absenteeism started in 1950s and many of
these studies focused on the elementary and high school students. It appears that there is need of
researches of school absenteeism for college level.
It is in this context that this action research was undertaken, that is, to identify the causes why
the freshmen students of Isabela State University absent themselves from their classes.

Importance of the Study
It is the aim of this research to identify solutions or keys to lessen, if not eradicate absenteeism
among freshmen students. Identifying the causes why students become truant from school can be one
of the explanations.. 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.

Scope and Delimitation of the Study
This study was limited to the causes and solutions for absenteeism among the freshmen
students of Isabela State University for 1
st
semester of school year 2014-2015.























FORMATION OF OBJECTIVES AND HYPOTHESIS

Objectives of the Study
This study aimed to determine the causes and solutions for absenteeism among the freshmen
students of Isabela State University. Specifically, it sought to answer the following questions:
1. Determine the demographic profile of the respondents regarding their age, gender, civil status,
home and temporary home address and the economic status or the occupation of parents.
2. Identify the common causes why students absent from their classes.
3. Measure and evaluate strategies to minimize, if not totally eradicate, absenteeism among the
students.

Hypothesis of the Study
Generally, this study puts an effort to weigh and establish the causes and solutions for
absenteeism to freshmen students of Isabela State University. Specifically, this research will try to
answer the following questions:
1. What is the demographic profile of the respondents in terms of:
1.1. Age
1.2. Gender
1.3. Civil Status
1.4. Home Address
1.5. Temporary Address
1.5. Parents Occupation
2. What are the common problems or reasons for students to absent?
3. How can these grounds for absent can be minimize or have a solution to avoid being absent?









METHODOLOGY
Research Design
This study used the descriptive survey method. A questionnaire was used to determine the
causes and solutions for absenteeism among the students where they rated each
situation/reason/cause and solutions presented.
All the data gathered from the respondents were 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 of the students were analyzed using a 5-point Likert Scale with the following
equivalent:
1 Never 2 Rarely 3 Sometimes 4 -Very Often 5 -Always
The rounding of figures was done to 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.

Research Locale
This study focused on the causes and solutions for absenteeism of freshmen students of Isabela
State University as shown below in Table 1.
TABLE 1. Freshmen Respondents According to Colleges

The Respondents
The study focused on the freshmen students of Isabela State University classified according to
their respective colleges for 1
st
semester of school year 2014 2015.
Total Number of
Freshmen Students
Percentage
College of Arts & Sciences
College of Agriculture
College of Business, Accountancy & Public Administration
College of Engineering
School of Veterinary Medicine
College of Teachers Education
College of Nursing
Institute of Information Technology
Total

Sampling Procedure
Since there were (number of students in Table 1) with (total populati on in Table 1), the sample
size was determined using the Slovins formula.
n = N / 1 + Ne
2

where n is the sample size
N is the total population; and
e is the margin of error.
The margin of error is a common summary of sampling error which quantifies uncertainty about
a survey result.
The number of respondents in this study is shown in Table 2.
TABLE 2. Frequency Distribution of Respondents According to Grade/Year Level

Data Gathering
A set of questionnaire will be given to each freshmen student with accordance to their college.
This form shall be the basis of the researcher about the prevailing causes of absenteeism and the
solution for it.
Total Number of
Freshmen Students
Percentage Sample Size
College of Arts & Sciences
College of Agriculture
College of Business, Accountancy & Public
Administration

College of Engineering
School of Veterinary Medicine
College of Teachers Education
College of Nursing
Institute of Information Technology
Total