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CHAPTER I

INTRODUCTIONS

1.1 Research Background

The effectiveness of a school can depends mostly on the level of students’ discipline in a

particular school. It means that students’ disciplines could have been affecting achievements and

image of a school. The downfall of students’ discipline covers all the aspect of breaking the

school rules from all kinds of students’ misdemeanors (Law, 2006). Circular Letter No.6/1995 on

overcoming school truancy problems stated that according to the schools misdemeanor report, it

showed that school and class truancy are the misdemeanor with the highest percentage of

involvements among students. The aspiration of the Education Ministry towards “Zero Defect”

in school truancy and class truancy problems will be spoiled if both these problems are not

solved immediately. These leaflet also stated that these problems could become a practice and

habit to the students, negatively affecting students themselves, family and school. Truancy can

also make an individual lose sense of responsibility, left behind in their study and most

frightening above all, their involvement in negative activities. Therefore, the Education State

Department and Education District Office are obligated to trace down the rate of school and class

truancy every month and ensuring that the particular schools are taking actions to overcome the

problems.

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The seriousness of truancy can lead to ambiguous future among the troubled students. We

need an established generation of heirs in spiritual, physical, emotions and intellect to shape a

developed and competent nation. To achieve this very purpose, we need students to be attending

schools, to receive all the formal education which had been arranged to offer in order for

students to gain all the knowledge and skills needed when they step into the working world.

A major problem facing schools is how to effectively deal with student absenteeism and

truancy (DeSocio, Vanncura, Nelson, Hewitt, Kitzman & Cole, 2007). When a student has not

attended school for a long period of time or frequently misses school, they are classified as

truant. These students forgo opportunities to learn. 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 students, family aspects, bullying and others. The main difference

between truancy and absenteeism is that truancy is unexcused and unlawful absence from school

without parental knowledge or consent (Teasley, 2004).

There are short term consequences to student’s absence from school such as falling

behind in school work, low educational success, poor social skills and isolation from friends and

longer term consequences related to unemployment and lowered income. Not only there are

educational consequences but legal consequences such as juvenile delinquency, alcohol and drug

use, and sexual promiscuity at illegal ages, indicating that absenteeism and truancy is a current

significant social problem.

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1.2 Statement of Problems

Student truancy is part of a larger social problem. Timberlake and Sabatino (1994) in their

research found that students that contribute to their family’s income or have tasks within the

home often come before school attendance. Students identify that household labor affected

school attendance and children had to miss school for that reason. In relation to student’s taking

care of their siblings, this becomes the case when parents are unable to afford daycare for their

young children. Smyth’s (1999) findings that students with low and unknown education level of

their parents have similar negative effects which indicate lower performance and commitment to

school among students. He concluded his research that within households, parents do not see

education and learning as a priority within their family values. Students who have parents that

attended universities have lower absenteeism rates and are less likely to intend to leave school

early. Asma (2004) in her research on students of FELDA in Kota Tinggi suggested that truancy

among the children of FELDA caused by poverty within family thus, parents do not put these

children’s education as top priority.

Not only family background and peers can cause a student to skip class and absent from

school, but teacher’s attitudes towards the students and the way the lessons are presented in

classroom also can also be a setback for the student to attend school. In Law (2006) research on

41 students in a secondary school in Sarikei found that students that have conflict with their

teachers and the boredom during lesson gave average mean score of 3.78, which is the highest

mean score among other factors that caused truancy. Jamalubah (2008) also found that most of

the students skip classes because of the teaching method used by their lecturer was less

interesting to the students, in his research conducted on students of Universiti Malaya.

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When students are absent from school there are wide range of short term educational

consequences that they face. First and foremost, students miss out on assignments. By missing

out on assignments, they are more likely to underachieve or perform poorly in different school

subjects. Students fail to do their homework even when they do attend school because their

absences prohibited them from learning the lessons. Ford (1996, p.96) stated that “nonattenders

generally fall behind their peers in academic achievement and the development of social

competence” which therefore affects students’ ability to pass examinations and the risk for

students dropping out is extremely high.

Ford and Sutphen (1996) suggested that because of truant behavior, students will not be

prepared to enter the workforce and therefore will contribute to the unemployment population. In

relation with the lack of preparation for adulthood, if one is jobless, one will suffer from having

no income. Even if one was able to find a job, their lack of skills and truant behavior as a child

would create hardships for them to find a good job, and therefore would have issues involving

lowered income which in turn would create even more problems in supporting oneself or others.

The issue of school attendance affects the kindergarten, primary, and secondary schools.

Absenteeism increases with each year and form levels and students gradually become more

disengaged from school. The problems begin in primary school and continue into secondary

school, which makes early intervention necessary to try to prevent students from continuing on

this path throughout their educational experiences. However, this research focuses on truancy

among secondary students as Witmer (1995) stated that the number of unemployed are twice as

likely to be secondary school drop outs moreover, two and a half times more likely to be on

welfare than secondary school graduates. These situations showed that truancy has become more

serious during secondary school as bad as they could get expelled from school.

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In addition to the consequences of student absenteeism, it is important to identify the

reasons which brought these students to be truant in order to tackle this problem. Truancy is

influenced by a variety of factors. The factors include the influence of peers, relationship with

teachers, and the set up of classroom instructions, family aspects and student individual attitude.

Truancy in individuals are influenced by their peers to not to attend school and encourage peers

to be engaged in activities outside of the school with them. Students who have poor or

conflicting relationships with teachers will avoid school in order to avoid their teacher. Often the

classroom instructions can be less interesting or too challenging for individuals, in the latter it

creates a mindset for students that they cannot achieve success. Teasley (2004) stated that if a

student does not feel they can succeed, there will be no desire for them to attend school.

Therefore, researcher feels that only by studying possible factors causing truancy can there be a

framework of intervention established to overcome this problem.

1.3 Objectives of Research

This research is carried out on the purpose to identify factors causing truancy among secondary

students. It focuses on identifying:

i) The level of truancy in the schools in Lahad Datu.

ii) Factor more dominant in causing truancy among students in secondary schools.

iii) The difference in the rates of truancy between socioeconomic statuses (SES) of students.

iv) The difference in the rates of truancy between genders of students.

v) The difference in the rates of truancy between students ethnic groups.

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1.4 Research Questions

Based on objectives of this research, researcher would study the following questions:

i) What is the level of truancy in the schools in Lahad Datu.?

ii) Which factor is more dominant in causing truancy among students in secondary schools?

iii) Are there significant differences in the rates of truancy between socio economic statuses

(SES) of students?

iv) Are the significant differences in the rates of truancy between genders of students?

v) Are the significant differences in the rates of truancy between students ethnic groups?

1.5 Hypotheses of Research

H01: There are no significant differences in the rates of truancy between socio economic

statuses (SES) of students.

H02: There are no significant differences in the rates of truancy between genders of students.

H03: There are no significant differences in the rates of truancy between students ethnic

groups.

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1.6 The Significance of Research

Schools which are serious about improving attendance and reducing truancy will necessarily

adopt a diagnostic approach to school attendance problems. The symptoms of a malaise can only

be effectively treated if its causes are thoroughly investigated and properly understood.

Therefore, it is important to identify factors causing secondary school truanting because truancy

has a number of unfortunate consequences, not just for students, but for schools and

communities. It is not surprising though that truancy affects academic achievement. Truancy is

also seen as the risk factor for other problems, including substance abuse, delinquency,

gangsters, serious criminal behavior and dropping out of school.

Furthermore, truancy itself can lead to risk behaviors, given that these students who are

not in school are unsupervised and removed from the influence of positive peers and adults.

Researcher believes that truancy does not just affect young people but also the adults they will

become. Baker, Sigmon and Nugent (2001) stated that adults who were chronically truant in

school when young are at elevated risk for a host of problems, including poor physical and

mental health, poverty and welfare, incarceration, and raising children who themselves exhibit

problem behaviors.

Moreover, the findings of this research would be useful to not only the school, but the

District Education Office, especially the students’ affair sector. The benefit of this research

would be able to aid the counselors of the schools and district to tackle the truancy problem

among the secondary school students. Another reason this research is being conducted is there

has not been such study conducted in this area, thus the research would be helpful to the

concerned parties. Hopefully by having studies on factors causing truancy, parents, educators,

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education ministry, authorities and communities will take initiatives on tackling this problem

applicably with the factors.

1.7 Limitations of Research

Upon executing this research, researcher identifies some constraints believed could interfere in

the applicable of generalizing the research findings. The constraints range from sampling,

location, and survey items conducted to the respondents. First, the sampling method used is by

purposive sampling in which respondents selected from their population based on their

attendance rate. Thus, the sample only consists of students with low attendance rate in school

and class. Nevertheless, a student might have been absent from school at least once in their life

as a secondary student but this research finding cannot be generalized to all secondary students

since the sample does not represent the entire population of students.

This research is executed only in four secondary schools in Lahad Datu, Sabah.

Therefore, findings from this research are not applicable to be generalized for all secondary

students in the country. This is because, respondents of disparate location have assorted

backgrounds and socio economic statuses which contribute to variety and complexity of factors

which may inhibit or preventing a child from attending school regularly given that, each child

has his/her own unique story, and whilst there may often be certain identifiable factors in

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common, each truant child demands an individual response, tailored to meet his/her individual

needs.

Another constraint in identifying the factors causing truancy among secondary students is

from the construction of survey items which only consists of 30 questions, divided into five

parts. Each part represents each possible factor – family aspects, relation with teacher and

classroom instruction, peer, and individual attitudes whilst the causes of truancy are more diverse

and multifaceted, ranging from lack of community support and an unsupportive school

environment or family to bad weather, transportation problems, bullying and poor health.

1.8 Operational Definitions

1.8.1 `Factors

Factors in this research term are referred to the variety of aspects that possibly could

cause truancy and absenteeism among secondary students. These factors are multifaceted

from family aspects, relation with teacher and classroom instruction, peer, and attitudes

of students themselves.

1.8.1.1 Parents and family environment

Family is people which have close relation with the students who live together under one

roof. Family aspects in this research context referred to the situation where parents who

do not have concern on the student’s education and their attitudes as well as value

towards quality of their children’s education. Parents and family environment factors also

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referred to the respondents’ perception of how their parents balancing between their

parents jobs and spending time with them.

1.8.1.2 Teachers and school administrations

This factor refers to the teachers’ attitudes towards truants and teachers’ concern about

the students’ welfares and conflicting with class teachers as a consequence of

stereotyping while classroom instruction refers to the method that teachers used to teach

certain skills and lesson to students and burden of homework given by teachers.

Meanwhile, school administrations in this research context refer to the action disciplinary

that is sentenced toward truants as well as the attitudes of disciplinary teachers in schools.

School administrations also included in their concern towards achievements of students

and their actions taken as to increase academic achievements among their students.

1.8.1.3 Peers

Peer factor refers to the circle of friends included their classmates and other friends from

same or different neighborhood. This peer factor covers acceptance from their friends in

the class and outside class, role of friends in their life, and their perception toward their

friends’ achievement and leadership. Peer factor also related to the students prioritize on

acceptance from peers over schools and study, and their emotional dependence towards

their friends. Students also tend to place their identities to be similar with their peers as

this can ensure their sense of belongings among their friends.

1.8.1.4 Attitudes of students

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Another important factor that can influence the students to be truant is the students’

attitudes themselves. In this research, it might refer to the students feeling of being forced

to attend school, and their perception that education is unimportant. These students also

might be avoiding certain teachers or being demotivated to go to school as they do not

have the feel that they can be succeed at school which can result from their frustrations

over their achievements in school or feeling rejected by their stereotype teachers or

feared on being harshly exhorted thus embarrassed in class by their teachers and

classmates when they go to school.

1.8.2 Truancy

Truancy in this research term is referring to students’ absenteeism with uninformed

excuse or formal letter to class teacher, school and even to their parents. Truancy among

secondary school is traced using the daily class file report which reported teacher’s

attendance for each subjects in a day as well as students who cut each classes or the

whole day of school. However, this research does not count in absenteeism with informed

excuse, letter from parents or guardians and medical leave. However, only students with

high rate of school and class truancy will be counted in to be research sample. Potential

respondents must have been school truant for at least four times for at least a month

and/or class truant for at least three classes in a week regardless of class subject from

early year of 2009 until September 2009.

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1.9 Conclusion

Truancy is an ongoing problem which significantly contributes too many social problems among

teenagers. Therefore understanding the causes that impel students to be truant must be studied

thoroughly in order to establish truancy reducing strategies and programs. When students start

being truant, it has to be understood by adults that this action is a voice of these children telling

that they are falling apart and thus, school should aim to prevent children from keep on truanting

and aspire to provide climate and environment that warmly welcomed these troubled children.

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