OVERDUE FINES: 25¢ per day per item RETURNING LIBRARY MATERIALS: Place in book return to remove charge from circulation recor¢ A SURVEY OF THE HIGH SCHOOL PRINCIPALS' PERCEPTION OF SOME SCHOOL-RELATED FACTORS OF STUDENT ABSENTEEISM IN ANAMBRA STATE OF NIGERIA By Festus N. Eresimadu A DISSERTATION Submitted to Michigan State University in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of DOCTOR OF PHILOSOPHY College of Education 1980 ABSTRACT A SURVEY OF THE HIGH SCHOOL PRINCIPALS' PERCEPTION OF SOME SCHOOL-RELATED FACTORS OF STUDENT ABSENTEEISM IN ANAMBRA STATE OF NIGERIA By Festus N. Eresimadu The survey was aimed at testing a number of hypo- theses concerning the high school principals' perception of some school-related factors of student absenteeism in Anambra, in the State of Nigeria. The objectives of the study were: 1. To determine and analyze the perceptions held by high school principals relating to the ad- ministration and management of schools as fac- tors of student absenteeism in the schools. 2. To determine and analyze the perceptions held by high school principals relating to teacher activities as factors of student absenteeism in the schools. 3. To determine and analyze the perceptions held by high school principals relating to the means of student control as factors of student absen- teeism in the schools. Festus N. Eresimadu A. To determine and analyze the perceptions held by high school principals relating to the school-community relations as factors of stu- dent absenteeism in the schools. Two forms of instrument were used for gathering the data. A Likert-type four alternative item questionnaire and an Open-ended questionnaire were completed by forty high school principals. The Likert-type questionnaire was used to measure the perception frequency of the principals concerning the school characteristics that relate to student absenteeism. And the open-ended questionnaire was used to validate the results of the Likert-type questionnaire and to make recommendations for further research. A Xz-test was used to determine the distribution of responses of the subjects on the characteristics. The con- tingency coefficient (C) was used to determine the strength of relationship between the male and the female sexes; and between one to ten years and eleven and above years of experience as principals. The content analysis was used to process the data.gathered with the open—ended questionnaire. The result was used to validate the results of the first instrument. Festus N. Eresimadu Selected Findings Based on the criteria for determining the degree of relationship of the characteristics to student absenteeism, the strongly school-related factors are: lack of enforcement of compulsory school attendance; lack of a system of atten- dance information to parents; sending students out of school because of lack of school uniform; lack of adequate number of chairs and desks; lack of lectures in the school due to teachers' strike; lack of adequate number of teachers rela- tive to student pOpulation in the schools; poor food qual- ity; poor food quantity and food monotony given to students in the school boarding house; boring, dull and abstract lessons by the teacher; teacher absenteeism from the school; teacher revenge on students; teacher neglect oifprevious absenteeism offenses of students; sending out students from class due to lack of books; punishment by strokes of the cane; punishment by manual labor; rigid rules and regula- tions enforced in the school; bullying by fellow students; school violation of the community cultural values; community expectations of students in a school not being met by the school and lack of respect to students' parents in the schooL DEDICATION To My Parents for their tireless efforts to get me educated. ii ACKN OWLEDGEMEN TS To the Federal Government of Nigeria for offering me the opportunity and the fund to study abroad, I am im- mensely grateful. To Dr. Herbert C. Rudman, my major adviser and Chairman of the Dissertation Committee, who taught me how to use the library as soon as I arrived in United States of America. His fatherly advice and contributions to the dissertation made the completion of this work pos- sible. I ever remain proud of him. To Dr. Cole Brembeck, Dr. Winston Oberg and Dr. Louis Romano, members of the Dissertation Committee for contributing invaluable ideas and assistance towards this piece of work. To Dr. Howard Tietlebaum for his kindness and con— tributions in the design of the dissertation. To Mr. and Mrs. E.C. Unachukwu.for their parental Support at all times. The role they played in my life Imlrked a turning point in my education and life story. They can always count on me. To (Late) Chief M.C. Awgu, Mrs. Jenny Awgu and (Ifiite) Mr. V.C. Maduakor for their assistance when my high school education was disturbed. iii To my parents; Mr. Eresimadu Onyesoro and Mrs. Elizabeth Eresimadu Onyesoro who took me to school in 1952. They started off an experiment which Mum did not live to see the end-result. Good Father and Loving Mother, I am proud of you two. To all those who contributed towards my education. Above all, to my loving wife Ogo and to my nice brothers, Nsochukwu and Promise for their ever—ready fi- nancial assistance, guidance and encouragement. I will always remember them. iv TABLE OF CONTENTS LiSt Of Figures. 0 O O O O O O C I O O O O O I I LiSt Of Tables 0 O O O O O O O O O I O O O O O 0 CHAPTER I. II. III. TI—IE PRO BIEM O C O O O O O O O O O O 0 statement of the Problem. . . . . . . . Purpose of the Study. . . . . . . . . . Importance of the Study . . . . . . . . Theoretical Background of the Problem . The Scope and Delimitation of the Study Definition of Terms . . . . . Hypotheses — General and Operational. . Organization of the Thesis. . . . . . . REVIEW OF RELATED LITERATURE. . . . . . . . IntrOduction. O I O O O O O I O O O O O O 0 Historical Perspectives . . . . . . . . . Educational and Economic Implications of Student Absenteeism. . . . Social Implications of Student Absenteeism. Political and Administrative Implications of Student Absenteeism. . . . . . . Some School-Related Factors of Student Absenteeism I O O O O O O O o O O 0 Administrative and Managerial. . . . Teacher Activity and Means of Student contrOl O O O I O O O O O I School- -Community Relations . . . . . . METHODOLOGY OF THE STUDY. . . . . . . . . . Plan for Securing the Data. . . . ... . . . Development of the Instrument and Plan for Its Administration. . . . . . . . . . . PilOt Study 0 O O O I O O 0 O O O O O O O 0 Sampling Method . . . . . . . . . . . . . , Page v1ii ix CHAPTER III (Cont) IV. VI. Statistical Methodology. . . . . . . . . summayI I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I PRESENTATION OF DATA . . . . . . . . . . General Hypothesis 1 (Tables 1,2,3 and A; 101-1016). 0 o o o o o o o o o o o o o I General H othesis 2 (Tables 1,2,3 and 4; 2017“2030 o o o o o o o o o o o o o o 0 General H othesis 3 (Tables 1,2,3 and 4; 3031-3036 c o o o o o o o o o o o o o 0 General H othesis 4 (Tables 1,2,3 and A: 4.37-14’0414' o o o o o o o o o o o o o o 0 Criteria for Determining the Degree of Re- lationship of the Characteristics to Student Absenteeism. . . Characteristics That Strongly Relate to Student Absenteeism. . . Characteristics That Moderately Relate to Student Absenteeism. . Characteristics That Slightly Relate to Student Absenteeism. . . . . . . DISCUSSION OF RESULTS. . . . . . . . . . Characteristics That Show Strong Relation- ship to Student Absenteeism. . . . . . . Administration and Management . Teacher Activities. . . . . . . Means of Student Control. . . . School-Community Relations. . . Characteristics That Relate Moderatel Student Absenteeism. . . . . . . . . Administration and Management . Teacher Activities. . . . . . . Means of Student Control. . . . School-Community Relations. . . Characteristics That Slightly Relate Student Absenteeism. . . . . . . . . Summary. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . SUMMARY, CONCLUSIONS AND RECOMMENDATIONS t O Dodo-000%.... Summary. . . . . . . . Instrument and Data Collection . . . . . Method of Treatment and Analysis . . . . The Scape and Delimitations of the Study Major Findings . . . . . . . . . . . . . Conclusions. . . . . . . . . . . . Recommendations. . Implications for Further Research. vi PAGE 62 .65 . 66 . 66 67 , 68 103 103 .105 .106 .109 109 109 116 120 122 123 123 126 129 .130 .131 .132 137 137 CHAPTER APPENDICES I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I. Application for To and Fro Air Tickets to Collect Research Data . . . . . . . . . . II. Approval of Air Tickets From Federal Ministry of Education, Lagos. . . . . . . III.App1ication for To and Fro Air Tickets- Consulate-General of Nigeria. . . . . . . IV. Instruments for Gathering the Data. . . . V. Letter of Introduction to Enugu .'. . . . VI. Letter of Introduction to Principals. . . SELECTED BIBLIOGRAPHY . . . . . . . . . . . . vii PAGE 157 157 158 159 160 -171 172 173 LIST OF FIGURES FIGURE PAGE 1.1 Gouldner's Model--The Problem of Control to Reach Organizational Goals: Antici- pated Consequences. . . . . . . . . . . . . . .10 1.2 Unanticipated Consequences. . . . . . . . . . .11 1.3 Operational Model of the Major Dimensions of Social Behavior. . . . . . . . . . . . . . .15 1.# Maslow's Hierarchy of Basic Needs . . . . . . .15 3.5 Nigeria; Nineteen State Structure ... . . . .61 viii LIST OF TABLES TABLE PAGE 1 Detailed Responses to the School-Related Factors of Student Absenteeism Question- naire by "Sex" and "Experience". . . . . . . . 70’79 2 Summary of the Responses to the Four Alternative Item Questionnaire of the Study. . . . . . . . 80r87 3 Statistical Table of the Research Question- naire Responses. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 88'9“ 4 Results of the Tests of the Null Hypotheses by "Sex" and "Experience" Variables. . . . . . 95-98 Content Analysis of the Open-Ended Questions . 99-101 Principals' Suggestions of Other Factors of Student Absenteeism in the OpeneEnded Questions for Further Research . . . . . . . .102 ( ix CHAPTER I THE PROBLEM Statement of the Problem The High Schools of Anambra, located in the State of Nigeria are usually filled with students at the beginning of every academic year. As the year goes on, however, the classes which were once full of students show an attrition of membership. Teachers and administrators have shown increasing concern for what has developed into a major school problem. wmy then do students absent themselves from school as the terms progress? Many activities that take place in the schools are related to the irregular attendance or student absenteeism in schools. Yet teachers and administrators may not be aware of the relationship between the activities that take Place in the schools and the irregularity of attendance of Students. These activities that take place in the schools may be in the form of actions of students, teachers or even the actions of principals and other school administrators. 1 2 The awareness of the relationship between their actions and students' irregularity of attendance in schools leads to the understanding of what school administrators, teachers, principals and students should not encourage and should not do in the schools. The problem of irregular attendance in schools may be greatly reduced when most school personnel are aware of the school-related factors to the problem in question. Pur ose of the Stud The purposes of this study are four-fold; 1. to determine and analyze the perceptions held by principals of high schools relating to ad- ministration and management of schools as factors of student absenteeism or irregular attendance in the schools. 2. to determine and analyze the perceptions held by principals of high schools relating to teacher activities as factors of student absenteeism or irregular attendance in the schools. 3. to determine and analyze the perceptions held by principals of high schools relating to means of student control as factors of student absen- teeism or irregular attendance in the schools. A. to determine and analyze the perceptions held by principals of high schools relating to 3 School-Community relations as factors of stu- dent absenteeism or irregular attendance in the schools. Importance of the Study Nwanal conducted a survey research study to identify the major school offenses in Western Nigeria in 1971 and a follow-up study the same year. In both the preliminary and follow-up studies? truancy constituted the greatest problem of the schools in Western Nigeria; another was a comparative study of the incidence and intensity of major school offenses. In this study, truancy was found to be the major school prob- 1em in the East Central State of Nigeria. (Anambra State used to be part of East Central State). Nwana suggested that a study be conducted to determine the contributory factors to truancy so as to determine the needed action lO.C. Nwana, "Major School Offenses in Nigeria- Preliminary Study" West African Journal of Education, V01. XV: NO. 2, pp. 99.103. 0.0. Nwana, "Major School Offenses in Nigeria- Follow-Up Study," IKENGA, Institute of African Studies, University of Nigeria, Nsukka, Vol. No. 2. 20.C. Nwana, "School Discipline In The East Central State of N1geria After the Civil War." West African Journal of Educat1on, Vol. XIX; No. 3, October 1975 pp 71- . 4 minimize the problem of student absenteeism in the schools. The present study may help to alleviate the problem of student absenteeism by heightening the sensitivity of the administration to the contributory nature of school policies to school truancy. Similarly Wright3 stated that the National Associ- ation of Secondary School Principals' members (NASSP) iden- tified poor attendance as the "most perplexing? student problem facing school administrators today. The effective— ness and efficiency of school operations are seriously af- fected by student absenteeism. Subsequently the working morale of teachers decreases as a result of irregular at- tendance of students in the schools. This study will help to provide some answers to this Fmost perplexingf problem that faces school administrators. School administrators and teachers spend much of their energies in pursuit of student absentees. This leaves little or no opportunity for more constructive and rewarding school tasks. The absence of students from the school creates administrative problems for both teachers and administrators. In the schools with a high degree of student absenteeism, the teachers face the dilemma of whether to teach the few students that are present in the class or not. Often the lack of students in the classes compels the teachers to cancel ¥ 3J.s. Wright, "Factors In School Attendance," 2n; IDelta Kappan, Vol. 58; 1976/77, pp. 358-359- 5 planned and prepared lessons. This results in loss of working time. If teachers continue to cancel planned lessons, the cumulative effects of lesson cancellations owing to student absenteeism will definitely have great consequences for the students, the teachers and the administrators in the school system. To prevent these consequences, this study is essential and vital. Davenport Irvin“ noted that schools lose millions of dollars in state aid annually due to student absenteeism. Allocation of State money to schools is based on average daily attendance in Anambra State. If student absenteeism is reduced, schools in the State can expect to get more fi- nancial support from the Anambra State Government. Hence this study is vital. Student absenteeism leads to a temporary or permanent shortage of students in schools. This may bring about the merging of some schools or even the closure of some schools when they become too expensive to run. This is a politically and unpopular action in any community. Newsweek5 of April 24, 1978 supports the view that student absenteeism brings about the increased cost of running schools. If stu4 dent absenteeism is related to known factors in the schools, “Irvin, Davenport, "Combating Absenteeism" School and Community, Vol. 63; April 77, p.7. SNewsweek, "Empty-Desk Blues", v61. 91: April 21;, 1978. p. 9 . 6 it will enable teachers and administrators to reduce the high cost of running schools. Dick Davis,6 Verville Elinor? and Hakanen Lauri8 statedthat poor attendance may be related to poor academic performance. That is to say that the quantity of schooling and academic performance may be linearly related. If this is so, the problem of student absenteeism robs the State of future talents of those who might have become scientists, doctors, educators and administrators. Irregular attendance of students in schools hinders the attainment of academic and social successes. Secondary school students in Anambra State perform poorly in the West African School Certificate Examination. The poor performance may have some relation- ship to the irregularlity of attendance over the years. This study will enable the school personnel to be aware of these consequences. The high rate of school absenteeism may be related to the breaking into premises to steal, committing arson and indulging in dangerous drugs and marijuana- 6Dick Davis, "One Solution to the Inner-City At- tendznce Problem", Phi Delta Kappan, Vol. 56; April, 1975, p. 5 O. ZElinor Verville, "School Problems," Behavior Prob- ,lems of Children, pp. 355-363. 8Lauri Hakanen, "The Stride Program; An Answer to tabsenteeism", Phi Delta Kappan, Vol. 59; Jan. 1978, pp.307- 9. 7 The absentee students move about with notorious gangs committing crimes. Stott9 holds this view too. This study may present data which may encourage students to attend schools regularly so as to divert their attention from the notorious gangs they follow. Student absentee- ism may be a predictor of dropping-out of school. If stu— dent absenteeism in schools is checked through the school factors that relate to it, the consequences of this problem may be prevented. Checking student absenteeism early in life helps to establish proper work habits later in life since human beings 10 "good are often creatures of habit. According to Levanto, attendance habits learned and developed in the school have a good chance of being carried over into the world of work. The same applies to bad habits." ' It is fast becoming a practice for teachers and re- searchers to attribute pupil problems such as truancy to pupils' home and society. Rarely has there been much effort to examine the schools, their nature, their process and their operation as a way of finding out whether they are associated ‘with absenteeism. Hence the importance of this study. 9D.H. Stott, "A Study of Truants," Studies of Troublesome Children, New York, Humanties Press, Inc., pp. 97-115. 19 10J. Levanto, "High School Absenteeism," NASSP Bulletin Oct., 1975, p. 103. ' Theoretical Background of the Problem The present research grows out of some theoretical areas of investigation, namely; organizational control and leadership, dysfunctions of bureaucracy, the impact of the formal organization upon the individual and need-hierarchy. Some theorists have touched and investigated these areas. We now turn to their theories and findings. Merton and others11 in Sociology Today, used Gould- ner's model of control and showed that demand for control may lead to anticipated and unanticipated consequences. March and Simon12 also showed what could be the dysfunctions of bureaucracy with the simplifed Merton model. Merton's model also showed that the demand for control results in intended and unintended consequences. In this context, Gouldner's model and Merton's model of control shall be re- garded as synonymous. Using the illustration in Figure 1.1 the demand for control leads to the use of general and impersonal rules. The use of general and impersonal rules lowers visibility of power relations. And the lowering of visibility of power llR. Merton and others, "Organizational Analysis," Sociology Today, Harper and Row, Vol. II. pp. #00-425, 1976. 12J. March and H. Simon, Organizations, Wiley, 1958 Chapter 3, pp. 36-A7. 9 relations lowers the level of interpersonal tension. The lowering of the level of interpersonal tension increases the use of the general and impersonal rules. This results in anticipated or intended consequences of the demand for control using rules and regulations. Similarly, principals and teachers use general and impersonal rules to achieve the objectives of the school as an organization. The achievement of the school objectives by the use of the rules are the anticipated and intended consequences. Conversely, the use of general and impersonal rules produces unanticipated and unintended consequences in the school organization. Figure 1.2 shows that the demand for control leads to the use of general and impersonal rules. Use of general and impersonal rules increases the knowledge of minimal ac- ceptable behavior. The knowledge of minimal acceptable be- havior increases the difference between organizational goals and group achievement. This increases visibility of power relations. When the level of power relations increases, the level of interpersonal tension is raised. And when this is so, it may result in alienation, apathy, fear and withdrawal. When these effects come up, there may be less use of general and impersonal rules. Too much use of rules or lack of it, too much exer- cise of power or lack of it, too much use of coercive methods 10 [Demand for Control Leads to v Use of General and Impersonal Rules Increases Lowers Visibility of L_ Lowers ' Level of Power Relations Interpersonal I Tension Figure 1.1 Gouldner's Model - The Problem of Control To Reach Organizational Goals: Anticipated Consequences. 11 Demand for Control I ' Leads to ¢. Use of General and Impersonal Rules Increase Le;;;3§\ Level of Interpersonal Tension ’ Knowledge of Minimal Accept- able Behavior ,/’/’ ' , 4/’/’ Raises LVisibility of Power Relations t A Difference Between Organizational Goals and Group Achievement \ Increases Increases' Increases Closeness of Supervision Figure 1.2 Unanticipated Consequences 12 of control by the school authorities may result in unanti- cipated and unintended consequences of alienation, apathy, fear and withdrawal by the students. Etzioni13 in Modern Organizations showed that various means of control may be classified into three categories; (1) physical or coercive, (2) material or utilitarian and (3) Symbolic or normative. The school organization is pri- marily concerned with normative means of control. According to Etzioni; All other things being equal, at least in most cultures, the use of coercive power is most alienating to those sub- ject to it than is the use of utilitarian power, and the use of utilitarian power is more alienating than the use of nor- mative power. Or to put it in the other way around, normative power tends to gen- erate more commitment than utilitarian and utilitarian more than coercive. By way of application, the schools should use symbols of prestige, esteem, love, acceptance and conviction as nor- mative methods of student control as Opposed to the coercive methods of control such as detention, corporal punishments, etc. Coercive means of control are alienating to the school subjects. And when students are alienated, they could express it by being absent from the schools. This also may apply to students in Anambra State of Nigeria. 13Amitai Etzioni, "Organizational Control and Leader- ship," Modern Organization, New Jersey, Prentice Hall, Inc., PP‘ 58-67! 19 o 13 Pugh14 in OrganizationTheory emphasized what Chris Argyris_wrote on the impact of the formal organization upon the individual. The school as an organization is very re- strictive over whatever the students do in the school. The school requires that students should listen, take orders from the school authorities and carry out orders thereby making the students passive, dependent and subordinate. The school expects students to be present in the schools to learn under conditions that militate against these expectations. All these characteristics are not congruent to the ones mature human beings in our culture are postulated to desire. They are much more congruent to the needs of infants. Students are adolescents. They are no longer children.and.as.such school personnel should not regard and treat these students ~as children. When the needs and eXpectations of students are not congruent with the requirements of the school organization, frustration, failure, conflict, apathy, withdrawal or aliena- tion may result. Students also react to the school organiza- tion by absenting themselves from the school. The social behavior of the students who absent them- selves from school owing to the incongruence of their needs and requirements of the school can be expressed with k 14D. Pugh, "The Impact of the Formal Organization Upon the Individual," Organization Theory, New York, Penguin Books. pp. 261-277, 1971. 14 the operational model of the major dimensions of social be- 15 havior as enunciated by Getzels and Guba in School Review as shown in Figure 1.3. Sergiovanni and Carverl6 in The New School Executive outlined Abraham.Maslow's hierarchy of basic needs. Using the illustration that follows, there are five types of needs arranged in hierarchical order. In Figure l.# the needs are physiological, safety, love and belongingness, respect or esteem and self-actuali- zation. The higher order needs cannot be pursued when the lower order needs have not been satisfied. And here, there is a link between the lower order needs and the normative means of student control in the schools. The normative means of control belong to the lower order need hierarchy. Students may absent themselves from the school if’physiological, safety, love and belongingness needs are not satisfied or denied. The provision of chairs, adequate quantity, quality and var- iety of food, materials, security of life and property, love and kindness from teachers all belong to the lower order needs. Students may absent themselves in school to learn when there 15J. Getzels and E. Guba, "Social Behavior and the Administrative Process" School Review, 65;#23-#41. l6Sergiovanni and Carver, "A Belief Pattern for Decision-Making," The New School Executive, pp. 33-51. 15 Chaitrur" )Ejhos tt’alu’fs ///;fin nsti t:tion-——%Role-—-—-—-¥Ex£ectations Social\AI AT 1 T 11? >ocial System\,\I nid vi 1dual--——?Per onality—‘RNeed—Disposition Be- 111‘ f havior Cultu re-——-—'>E hos————)Va ues Figure 1.3 Operational Model of the Major Dimensions of Social Behavior Respect or Egteem Love and / Physiological \ Figure 1.4 Maslow's Hierarchy of Basic Needs. 16 is lack or denial of the lower order needs be it physio- logical, safety, love or belongingness. The Scope and Delimitation of the Study This study is delimited as follows: 1. This study is limited to the perceptions of high school principals in Anambra State. The reliability and validity of the findings de- pend on the sincerity of the principals' re- sponses. The study of school-related factors of student absenteeism does not provide complete answers to the problem of student absenteeism. It only provides some perception of the problem. The study of school-related factors of student absenteeism does not imply cause. It merely indicates a relationship. The time for collecting the data of this study was limited. Visits to school principals were planned around the time constraints on them. Lack of adequate finance for such a study made continuous visitations to the schools difficult. Much of the findings of this study depend upon the data collected on the days the principal was visited. l7 6. Lack of funds and time made it difficult to extend the SCOpe of this study to other States in Nigeria. Generalization will therefore be limited to Anambra State of Nigeria. 7. The sample size may be a limitation to statistical results. Definition of Terms Absenteeism: Absence from school for the entire school day. Perception: The understanding, knowledge got by perceiving; Impression. School Personnel: Body of persons employed in the school. Truancy: Staying out of school without per- mission. Morale: Moral or mental conditions with re- spect to courage, discipline, con- fidence, enthusiasm. Avera e Dail Attendance (ADA): is calculated by counting students in attendance or legally excused each day during the school year and dividing by the number of school days in the year. Attendance Rate: The frequency or degree of regular- ity in attending school. Anambra State: Frequencies: Percentage Frequencies: Chi Square 1X3): Contingency Coefficient (C): Co-curricular Activities: 18 One of the 19 States of the Federal Republic of Nigeria which used to be part of former Eastern Nigeria. The number of occurences of a given type of event. The number of occurences of a given type of event expressed in percen- tage. A test of statistical significance whether a systematic relationship exist between two variables. x2 = (fof; fezz A test to determine the strength of the relationship between two variables, data are in terms of frequencies and a table larger than 2 x 2 is involved. X2 0 = N+XZ All other school activities like sports, games, clubs, meetings, etc. School Organizational Cllmate: School-boarding House: Surcharge: Financial Support: West African Examinations C ouncil : West African School Certificate -WASC : $111216 Random: High Schools: 19 The organizational 'personality' of a school. (Personality is to the individual what-climate is to the organization). A house rented to students by the school where students live and are fed in a common refectory or cafe- teria. Additional or excessive charge. To provide for and to bear the fi- nancial eXpense . The body responsible for preparing high school syllabi, setting and marking of examinations for the secondary school leaving certifi- cate and other examinations. This is the certificate a successful high school student obtains at the completion of his secondary school course. Selecting in such a way that all .members of the population have an equal probability of selection. Public schools covering forms one through five. 20 Hypotheses General Hypothesis 1 The principals of high schools in Anambra State of Nigeria will perceive the research questions related to ad- ministration and management of schools as factors of student absenteeism in the schools. Operational Hypothe§i§_l§ There will be no statistically significant differences between men and women principals' perception on the administra- tion and management questions related to reasons for student absenteeism in the schools. Operational Hypothesis 1b There will be no statistically significant differences in the perception of principals who reflect different levels of experiences on the administration and management questions related to reasons for student absenteeism in the schools. General Hypothesis 2 The principals of high schools in Anambra State of Nigeria will perceive the research questions related to teacher activities as factors of student absenteeism in the schools. Operational Hypothesis 2a There will be no statistically significant differences in perception between men and women principals on the teacher 21 activities questions related to reasons for student absentee- ism in the schools. Operational Hypothesis 2b There will be statistically significant differences in perception among the principals who reflect different levels of experiences on the teacher activities questions related to reasons for student absenteeism in the schools. General Hypothesis 3 The Principals of'High Schools in Anambra State of Nigeria will perceive the research questions related to the means of student control as factors of student absenteeism in the schools. Operational Hypothesis 3a There will be no statistically significant differences between men and women principals' perception on the means of student control questions related to reasons for student ab- senteeism in the schools. Operational Hypothesis 3b There will be no statistically significant differences in the perception of principals who reflect different levels of experiences on the means of student control questions re— lated to reasons for student absenteeism in the schools. 22 General Hypothesis 4 The principals of High Schools in Anambra State of Nigeria will perceive the research questions related to school-community relations as factors of student absenteeism in the schools. QpppationalpHyppthesis ha There will be no statistically significant differences in perception between men and women principals on the school- community relations questions related to reasons for student absenteeism in the schools. Operational Hypothesis 4b There will be no statistically significant differences in the perception of principals who reflect different levels of experiences on the school-community relations questions related to reasons for student absenteeism in the schools. Organization of the Thesis In Chapter I, a statement of the problem, the purpose of the study, the assumptions upon which the study is based, the general and operational hypotheses, the scope and de- limitations of the study and the definition of terms have been presented. The review of the related literature is presented in Chapter II. The review includes the historical perspectives of absenteeism in Nigeria, the educational and economic 23 implications of student absenteeism, the social implications of student absenteeism, the political and administrative im- plications of student absenteeism and some school-related factors of student absenteeism. In Chapter III, the procedure and methodology of the study are presented. The detailed description includes plan for securing the data, the develOpment of the instrument, plan for administration of the instrument, pilot study test- ing of the instrument, selection of population, selection of sample, administration of the instrument, research design, statistical methodology and summary. In Chapter IV, the analysis of the data is re- ported. In Chapter V, the results of the data analysis are. discussed. In Chapter VI, the Summary, Conclusions and Recommendations for further research are presented. CHAPTER II REVIEW OF RELATED LITERATURE Introduction This chapter contains the review of the related literature on student absenteeism in the schools. The literature review has been sub-divided as follows: 1. Historical Perspectives 2. Educational and Economic Implications of Student Absenteeism 3. Social Implications of Student Absenteeism A. Political and Administrative Implications of Student Absenteeism 5. Some School-Related Factors of Student Absen- teeism: Administrative, Teacher Activity and Means of Student Control, School-Community Relations. Historical Pergpectives There has been very few studies on student absenteeism in Nigeria. Much of the theoretical and em- pirical studies in this review have been carried out in the 2G 25 United States of America. It is reasonable to look for ways to overcome a problem when there is one like student absen- teeism. When alternative methods of solving a problem are available, the methods which proved most reliable and very effective can be adapted by the people concerned. Studies by Nwana17 showed that truancy ranked as the highest prob- lem of the secondary schools in Nigeria. Since this prob- lem is real in Nigeria, an investigation of how leading countries in the field of education such as U.S., Canada, Britain are combatting these problems in their own coun- tries- These data may be helpful for Nigeria educators to adapt solutions'to their own schools. Educational and Economic Ipplications of Student Absenteeism Street18 in the Journal of College Student Personnel said, "My hypothesis is that the State cannot afford un- limited cut policies in state-supported institutions with- out compensation for the wastes involved." He reported that students who enroll in’a class and have excessive absences are wasting taxpayers' money. In Nigeria, absentees deprive other students of posi- tions~ in the class ~and cause students in the 17Nwana, op.cit., pp. 99-103 18Donald Street, "Non—Compulsory Attendance: Can State Supported Universities Afford This Luxury?" Journal of College Student Personnel 16:12h-127, 1975. 26 class to learn less on the days absenteeism takes place. There gis the problem of inequity occurring, when a student who is willing to attend all classes but the teacher does ‘not‘ "conduct lessons. because of. absenteeism. Parker and McCoy,19 Birman and Gary,20 in a similar fashion wrote on a different dimension of the economic loss due to student absenteeism. They wrote to urge schools to intervene promptly so that student absenteeism is drastically reduced. If student absenteeism is on the increase, Birman noted that schools get worried for their funding because the size of the school budget is often based on calculations of average daily attendance. Schools also spend heavy sums of money in pursuit of absentee students, thereby leaving little or no opportunity for more constructive and rewarding school tasks. The money spent on absentee students are wasted most of the time. Street21 also maintained that another loss from absentee students is the wasted time which may result when the teachers or administrators attempt to clear the dif- ficulties of students who fail because of irregularity of attendance. The demands for accountability and efficiency 19Frank Parker and James McCoy, "School-based Inter- vention for the Modification of Excessive Absenteeism," Psychology in the Schools, 14:84-88, Jan. '77. 20Beatrice Birman and Natriello Gary, "Perspectives on Absenteeism in High Schools," Journal of Research and Development in.Education, Vol. II: No. 5, pp. 29-33, 1978. 21Street, 0p.cit., pp. 124-127. 27 for funds spent in our schools today have become so im- portant that absenteeism must be reduced if not completely eliminated from our high schools. Garms and others22 in School Finance: The Economics and Politics of Public Egpgatipp noted that the consumption component of education increases the longer the individual attends school. In other words, the more an individual absents himself from school, the less the consumption com- ponent of education of the individual. Garms also showed that the private benefits of education emphasizes future economic returns of educational investment. A good high school education is necessary for good prospects in the job market. Frequent absence from school may hinder many stu- dents from gettingagood’ high school education and thereby having poor prospects in the job market. Garms also showed that the quantity of schooling has a direct influence on the average earnings of individuals. For example, people with four or more years of college education on the average are likely to earn more than those with only the primary school experience. Most economic analyses have found that primary and secondary education is a good investment. 22Walter Garms, et.al., "The Role of Government in Financing Education," School Finance: The_Economics an; Politics of Public Education. New Jersey, Prentice Hall, Inc., pp. -71, 197 o 28 Choi and Malak,23 King, 26 24 Fiordaliso,25 Fernandez, and Cardenas in some theoretical and empirical studies have all found a positive correlation between the quantity of schooling and academic performance. In other words the less a student is absent from school, the more he stands a chance of performing better academically. If the stand- ard of education is to be improved and if the individual is to benefit from schooling, the individual ought to maintain a high attendance rate. If the quantity of schooling directly influences the rate of academic performance, it follows that high rate of absence from the school may prevent a student from getting a good high school education. Garms27 in dealing with pri- vate economic benefits of education said that a well-educated person can adapt more easily to new job situations and 23J.w. Choi and F. Malalk, "Faculty Perception of Poor Academic Performance of Students," Journal of College Student Personnel, 16:317-18, 1975. qu. King, "Disciplinary Problems and Factors of Effective Control," Journal of Education, Ministry of Edggation, Sierra Leone, Vol. 1, No. 1, pp. 27-32, April 19 . 25Richard Fiordaliso, et.al., "Effects of Feedback on Absenteeism In The Junior High School," The Journal of Educational Research, 70:188-192. April, 1977. 26Edward Fernandez and Cardenas, "Absenteeism: Is Thege A Solution?" NASSP Bulletin, Vol. 60: 87-91, Nov. 197 . 27Walter Garms, et.al., op. cit. p. 44-71- 29 opportunities, thus providing a hedge against future lay- off and unemployment. A high school student that is not well-educated as a result of high rate of absenteeism may not have a hedge against unemployment. An absentee student has lesser chances of going to college than a student who attends school regularly. If the quantity of schooling and academic performance are related to the cost of dealing with crime and delinquency in a community. Where students attend schools regularly the cost of dealing with crime and delinquency is substan- tially reduced. The same may be true of welfare costs. Garms28 noted that the most common external benefit of education is contribution to economic growth. Students with poor school attendance may therefore contribute less to economic growth than students with high rate of school attendance. Social Implications of Student Absenteeism -Fernandez and Manue129 said that absenteeism was reported as the most perplexing student problem for principals, outranking discipline by a two to one ratio. Nwana30 also 28Walter Garms, Ibid., pp. 44-71, 1978. 29Edward Fernandez and Manuel, op.cit., p. 87. 300.0. Nwana, op.cit., pp. 99-103. 30 reported that truancy constituted the greatest problem of schools in Nigeria. If this is so, it may follow that the larger society may be a depository of the social consequen- ces of absenteeism. Davis31 reported that the reluctance to attend school regularly had serious effect on the school and society as evidenced by vandalism, shakedowns, thefts, verbal and physical confrontations between students of the same and different races. Davis went further to say that attendance in school is relevant to success in future. There- fore today's schools have the responsibility for helping young people prepare themselves for the working world. Good at- tendance will prepare the students better for that world. The Federal Republic of Nigeria outlined the philo- sophy of Nigerian education in a booklet titled Federal Republic of Nigeria National Policy onEducation.32 The five main national objectives of Nigeria which are endorsed as the necessary foundation for the national policy on edu- cation, are the building of: (1) A free and democratic society; (2) a just and egalitarian society; (3) a united, strong and self-reliant nation; (4) a great and dynamic economy; (5) a land of bright and full opportunities for all citizens. 31Dick Davis, "One Solution to the Inner-City At- tendance Problem," Phi Delta Kappan 56:560 April 1975. 32"Philosophy of Nigerian Education," Federal Re ublic of Ni eria National Policy on Education, 1977, pp. 4-5. 31 In order to implement the policy, education is regarded as the most important instru- ment of change as any fundamental change in the intellectual and social outlook of any society has to be preceded by an educational revolution; educational activity will be centered on the learner for maximum self-development and fulfillment; universal basic education will be provided for all citizens. These national objectives as well as ways to imple- ment them are laudable. But if the country has set out these objectives and some students often absent themselves from school, such students are working against the ways of imple- menting the national objectives. Such students prohibit the attainment of the greater part of the national objectives. Nigeria strongly believes in the education of her citizens: Not only is education the grestest force that can be used to bring about redress; it is also the greatest investment that the nation can make for the quick develop- ment of its economic, political, socio- logical and human resources.33 Empty school buildings create another problem when such schools are closed down. It becomes hard to find suit- able tenants for the building. It then becomesa hideout for criminals as evidenced in Anambra. Drop-outs who menance the society are first and fore- most truants before they eventually drop out of school. 33Ibid., p. 4-5. 32 VervilleBA confirms this claim. Davenport35 reported also that higher drOpout rates, greater incidence of delinquency and increased vandalism are sordid concomitants of excessive absenteeism. Birman and Natriello36 have this to say, From the societal perspective, the immediate problems of absenteeism are delinquency and crime which occur when large numbers of adolescents, out of school and unemployed are left with nothing constructive to occupy their time. Today, employers eXpress increasing concern with the erratic absenteeism among the 20-30 year old workers. This is a carry- over problem from the school to the world of work. According to Garms37 a better educated person may set an example for others to emulate. Education can make people become more flexible and adaptable to new ideas in work situations. It has been shown in this review that the quantity of schooling is related to performance of an individ- ual. If this is true, it may also be true that a student who absents himself from school stands a lesser chance of setting good examples for others to emulate. He may also be less 3“Elinor Verville, "School Problems," Behavior Prob- lems of Children, pp. 355- 365. ' 35Irving Davenport, "Combating Absenteeism," School and Community, Vol. 63: 7 and 40. ” 36Beatrice Birman and Natriello, op.cit; pp. 29-38, 1978. 37Garms, et.al., op.cit.; pp. 44-71, 1978. 33 flexible and less adaptable in applying new ideas in work situations or in the home. If a student attends school regularly, he stands a lesser chance of constituting a social problem like delinquents and criminals. The more a student attends school, the more he gets educated and perpetuates the norms and values which guide citizens' behavior in a free society. Political And Administrative Impli- cations of Student Absenteeism The rate of attendance in schools may be one of the measures of demand for education in a community. Another measure of demand for education may be the amount of fi- nancial support given to schools by the community. The higher the attendance rate, the higher the financial sup- port the schools get from the government and the community.If SChOOlS have a. high rate of student absenteeism and an ade- quate number of teachers, it means that the supply of edu- cation in this situation is more than the demand for educa- tion. According to Garms38 and others, the politics of school finance is that where the supply of education is more than the demand for education, budgets are hard to approve. And teachers in schools with serious rates of student absenteeism 38Walter Garms, "The Politics of School Finance" 34 are faced with the problem of declining enrollment and con- sequent laying off from work. Student absenteeism leads to temporary or permanent shortage of students in schools. This may bring about the closure of such schools with high rate of student absentee- ism as they have become very unviable to run. The closure of a school in a community has its political consequences. Communities resist any move to close their schools even if it means that they pay more to support the school. In what was ‘fcnmer'ly known as Eastern Nigeria, this situation gave -rise to the unpopular "Assumed Local Contributionf (A.L.C.). The Assumed Local Contribution made it imperative for com- munities to pay for spaces not filled by students in order to retain their schools; otherwise such schools were merged with other schools or closed down. Newsweek39 had this to say: Closing a school is a major political problem says San Francisco School Board member John Maher. When the School Board indicated that Winfield Scott School would be closed due to poor attendance, the en- tire community including several hundred senior citizens put up a stiff fight. Even for those without children enrolled in a threatened school, there is a kind of territorial imperative involved, a very strong emotional tie. 4 39Newsweek, "Empty-Desk Blues." V01. 91. April 1978 p.9. 35 TheeSchool administrator often spend considerable funds and energy in pursuit of absentees. This brings about the neglect of more constructive and rewarding school tasks. Students' absence creates admdnistrative problems for the “teachers and the administrator. In the Nigerian schools with high degree of student absenteeism, teachers face the dilemma of whether to teach the few students that were pres- ent or not to teach them. Many a time the teachers are com- pelled to cancel planned lessons simply because of lack of attendance by the students. The cumulative effects of les- son cancellations by teachers owing to student absenteeism are serious. Lipham and Hoeh”O in The Principalship: Foundations and Functions has this to say: A great deal of administrative time at the building level is devoted to ensuring stu- dent compliance with compulsory attendance laws. This expenditure of time is legally binding and, more important, it is admin- istratively significant. Schools with high rate of absenteeism find it more difficult to attract and retain teachers and students alike. Such schools are unp0pular, notorious and often associated with failures and never-do-wells. Poor attendance lowers staff morale in the school. The lowered morale affects quames Lipham and James Hoeh, "The Principal and the Students," The Princi alshi : Foundations and Functions, Harper 8: Row, p. 287. 36 the output of such a school. Stringer41 recognized that higher attendance fostered better morale and improved public relations. Some School-Related Factors of Student Absenteeism Administrative and Managerial “2 admonished principals and staff Lipham and Hoeh to recognize that a number, if not the majority, of the attendance problems are prompted by the school's inability to provide a program that can be tailored to the needs, values and abilities of each student. Many school principals and administrators suspend students when they commit offenses they consider serious. Some suspensions are allowed to run into weeks while some others are even forgotten in the process. Horn“3 cited a report carried by the Children's Defense Fund that a million children were suspended from schools during the 1972-1973 school year in nine states and District of Columbia in the U.S. According to the report, this figure excluded chil- dren that were sent home under such labels as "a cooling-off 413111 Stringer, "Striking a Positive Note for Attendance," School & Community, 64 p. 23 March, 1978. anames Lipham and James Hoeh, Ibid., p. 288. 43Jack Horn, "Suspension from School, Kicked-out Kids," Psychology Today, Dec. 1975, pp. 83-84. 37 period," "voluntary withdrew" and the drOp-outs who de- cided to quit schooling as a result of series of suspensions. A closer look at the offenses revealed that two-thirds of the suspensions were for completely non-violent, non-dangerous offenses like cutting classes, arguing with the teacher or smoking. Cases of violence that involved fighting a teacher received the usual penalty of expulsion and not suspension. What was considered as adequate reason for suspension differed widely from school to school even in the same dis- trict. For example, wearing a head scarf, not having the proper dress, arrogant defiance of authority by look and not verbally were the reasons for some suspensions. The reasons were as different as the teachers. A closer look at suspension practices revealed that the students' chancescfi‘ being suspended depended more on the grade level they belonged to than on What they did. Most of the suspensions were im- posed without the students having a chance to defend them- selves or their parents being notified. Similar suspension exercises abound in Anambra State of Nigeria. These exercises are aimed at infusing fear and discipline into the students. If the offense involved a student insulting or fighting a teacher, the penalty is of- ten expulsion after the student had been well thrashed with the cane, No Opportunity is given to the students to defend themselves. The students are treated like immature human beings who are incapable of reasoning. The frequent use of 38 suspension in high schools is much recognized by Horn when hesad, Educators even use suspension to discipline truants, making crime and punishment exactly the same or identical. 44 Garcia, commenting on the misuse of suspension exercises by educators has said," Where no causes have been clearly delineated, the traditional response has been the self-defeating tactic of suspending students from schools, an act which does little more than give administrative sanction to stu- dents staying away from the classroom, perpetuating the vicious cycle in which a student avoids class because his ab- senteeism has placed him in a position of failure. Birman and Natriellous commented that the role absenteeism plays in instigating the problem which high schools might. otherwise face is reinforced by the fact that absence in the form of suspensions and expulsions from school is often imposed by high school administrators or students who cause trouble in the school. Ironically, suspensions and expul- sions are often used as a disciplinary measure for truancy when it should not be the case. “TE. Garcia, "Instant Quarter-Credit Concept--An Anszer to Class Cutting?" NASSP Bulletin, Feb. 1979. PD. 39- 3- HSB. Birman and Natriello, 0p.cit.; pp. 29-38. 39 Commenting on student absenteeism, the Times Edu- 6 holds the view that researchers have cational Supplement“ eXplained pupil problems such as truancy by way of pupils' home and neighborhood. There has been no discussion or ex- amination of the schools, their nature, their process and their Operation. The article revealed that a thorough in- vestigation might Show that blame for a pupil's rebellion may rest with the school. If this is true, there should be changes in the practices and operations of the truant schools. This is a further evidence to show that schools have partial responsibility for student absenteeism in schools. In some Anambra State high schools, the State School Board and the principals keep on posting and admitting stu- dents to these schools without consideration for manageable size for control. When the school board posts the students, no reference is made to find out whether there is adequate accommodation, equipment or teachers in such schools. The result is that most classes in these schools go without teachers in certain subject areas. Instead of having six to seven lessons in a day, some classes may have three or four lessons for the whole day. Where students come to school to discover that they have no teachers or chairs and desk, some of the students prefer to stay out of school. Times Educational 46Times Education Supplement, 3260:9 Dec. 2, 1977. 40 Supplement47 confirms that when all factors have been con- sidered, the fact remains that the larger the school, the greater the pr0portion of pupils with low attendance records. 48 King agrees that inadequate accommodations, lack of school equipment are some factors which make for indis- 49 used the questionnaire method to conduct cipline. Wright a study on the factors of school attendance in Virginia. Principals were asked to identify and quantify certain char- acteristics of their schools' curriculum, organization and staff by completing a variety of check-lists. The second instrument was sent to the Superintendents of each school system.» It requested high school attendance rates for the 1975-1976 school year. Among other factors, Wright found that as size of the school increased, attendance rate decreased. He advised school planners to know that atten- dance is negatively related to the size of a school. He also found a significant correlation between pupil/teacher ratio and attendance rate. In schools where there were proportionately more teachers, attendance rates were higher. #7Times Educational Supplement. 3071:3 April 5, 1975. “BVOE0 King, OPICit.’ pp. 27-320 49John Wright, cp.cit., pp. 358-359. Sept-June, 1976/77. 41 School-boarding houses are popular in high schools in Anambra State. In the boarding houses, the schools are responsible for the feeding and accommodating of the students after parents have paid the amount of money approved per stu- dent by the school board. The school board approves a cer- tain amount with the aim of subsidizing the feeding. In most cases, the approved basic boarding fee is generally not ade- quate to feed a student for a term. Even with this situation, the government subsidy does not come in time. At times it may not even come at all. As if this is not enough, some unscrupulous school principals misuse the meager sum of money paid for feeding the students by awarding contracts to rela- tives. The result is that students' feeding is poor in qual- ity, inadequate in quantity and monotonous. Students go to school hungry. In many occasions where they can no longer tolerate the food they leave school to find something to fill their empty stomach. In very serious cases, the stu- dents demonstrate and strike thereby damaging school property. Principals' usual reaction is to close down the school for some weeks or even months. ' AlexandersO saw unrest as a strike between students and authorities of the institution. He classified the factors 50John W. Alexander, "Why Campus Riots" The Christian Reader, October-November Issue, 1970, pp.l-5. 42 of students unrest as superficial, basic, and root factors. Superficial causes occur because of the presence of under- lying factors. They are like incendiary sticks tossed into a dry forest. They can trigger a fire there but tossed in- to a rain forest they can fizzle out. Injustice in school administration, is an example of this. Alexander pointed out that during strikes, destruction is a way of lobbying in the view of these students. In the study conducted by Nwana5l in Nigeria in 1971, he identified strikes and demonstrations to be due to pomrfcod quality and quantity, stringent dormitory regulations and poor quality of teaching staff. As Nwana pointed out, only a few principals recognized that demonstration was a legitimate method of showing students' dissatisfaction with the school administration so long as it was carried out orderly. Lipham and Hoeh52 commenting on the organizational climate of a school noted that the closed climate is char- acterized by a high degree of apathy on the part of members of the organization. When the school administration is not 510.C. Nwana, "Major School Offenses in Nigeria," West African Journal of Education, Vol. XV, No.2, pp. 99-102. 52James Lipham and Hoeh, "Organization Theory," op. Cite, pp. 103-1060 I I 43 considerate and is high-handed students resort to being ab- sent from school. The school climate in high schools with high absenteeism may be closed. Nwankw053 showed that the institutions with closed school climate in Imo State of Nigeria tended to have a high incidence of students' con- flict behavior. Some of the characteristics of the schools with closed climate under study include teachers' apathy and non-committment to the school work or to the students and staff. Principals in those schools were more task- oriented. They, in their dictatorial manner distributed office memos to obtain compliance by the teachers. Most principals in this category of schools appeared very critical of staff or student initiative, suggestions or enthusiasm. There were fewer staff meetings or informal gatherings. Peo- ple appeared to be too busy while they did nothing in prac- tice. Davenport,5u contributing his views on school en- vironment said, 53John Nwankwo, "The School Climate as a Factor in Students' Conflict Behavior in Nigeria." Un ublished PhD Thesis, University of Ibadan, Nigeria, pp. 1-4, 1977. 541rvin Davenport, 0p.cit., p. 40. 44 Attention to the school environment itself perhaps lies at the crux of the issue. The school environment must be made as non- - threatening to the student as possible. Teachers and school personnel must give attention to punctual and regular attendance themselves and to the cultivation of warm, child-centered personalities. Opportunities should abound for the student to experience a large number of success each day. Teacher Activipy and Means of Student Control Some teachers always feel that they can always grap- ple with whatever material they have to teach the students in the class. Therefore such teachers come to school with- out preparing their lessons. As they teach, evidences of academic derailments begin to show up. And students are very intelligent at picking up the wrong statements of teachers. Students capitalize on such teachers' mistakes by throwing questions to the teachers concerning their wrong statements. Due to the teachers' unpreparedness, they may either pounce on the students by humiliating them verbally or physically. At times such teachers may just walk into the class and start throwing questions on what they have not taught the students. This practice results in the classrooms maintaining graveyard silence. If such teaching practices continue, students become bored by the teachers. 45 Greene,55 in his study of factors associated with absenteeism among students in two metropolitan high schools, supports the fact that the typical absentee is an individual exposed to conditions which produce unfavorable attitudes toward the school. These conditions are likely to include one or more of the following: low previous and current school marks, arbitrary and inappropriate curricula, in- flexible academic standards and teachers who lack a sym- pathetic understanding of adjustment problems confronting the individual absentee and who are unskilled in creating in their classrooms an intellectual, emotional and social climate conducive to effective learning and adjustment. Rhodes and Reisss6 recognize that student apathy and truancy may be related to teacher activities when they said, ...The actions of the schools' agents produce adaptations which include apathy, and or truancy and or de- linquency. Similar conditions cited above exist in Anambra high schools in Nigeria. 55James Greene, Sr., "Factors Associated With Absen- teeism Among Students in Two Metropolitan High Schools,” The Journal of E erimental Education, Vol. 31, pp. 389-394. Summer, 1963. 56L. Rhodes and A. Reiss, "Apathy, Truancy and De- linquency As Adaptations to School Failure," §pcial Forceg 48:12-22, September 1969. ' 46 Lauer and Rance57 in writing a profile on the chronic absen- tee recognized that teachers are partially responsible as they said, Many chronic absentees gave as reasons for being absent from school that classes are boring or not helpful and therefore not worth attending. In Nigeria teachers may also be partly responsible for ab- senteeism. Commting on teachers' responsibility for students' ab- 58 senteeism, Asare has said that when some students find that their teacher bores the class with dull and abstract lessons and does not even allow them to go out during play time, they watch for the days on which those lessons take place and absent themselves from school. Boring lessons according to him, may be due to inadequate preparation of the teacher especially where he does not read and know the subject-matter well. The teacher may be lazy in preparing or finding teaching aids to illustrate the lessons. Associated with boring lessons and poor teaching is poor communication. Some teachers in the state of study do not communicate well with their students. Some of them use complex language and fail to community with their students. Some of them speak and write too rapidly for ease of commun- ication with students. When students do not understand their teacher, they prefer to stay away from school. 57Robert Lauer and Rance, "The Chronic Absentee: A Profile," Journal of Colle e Student Personnel, Vol. 17, pp. 324-326, July 1976. 5&E.Asare, "Corporal Punishment At School," Ghana Teachers Journal, Vol. 49-52, pp.30-37, April 1966. 47 Moos and M00559 in a study of some high school classes showed among other things that absenteeism in organizations such as the school may be high when there is inadequate or poor communication between the subordinates and their managers. Fulmer,60 writing in The New Management has this com- ment: Good communication, like clear air, is usually taken for granted until its absence begins to make life un- pleasant. One of the principals of learning is that the stu- dents must be active in order that learning may take place. In Anambra, Nigeria, it is therefore necessary that students should be allowed to relate attendance to the total pattern of their learning needs. Teachers should avoid boring les- sons by involving the students in identification of the prob- lem, planning the solution to the problem, implementing the solution, evaluating the results of the solution, and the process of the solution. If the student is a passive ob- server while the teacher does all these for him, he will not feel a need to be present in the class. 59Rudolf Moos and Bernice Moos, "Classroom Social Climate and Student Absences and Trades," Journal of Edu- cational Psychology, Vol. 70, No.2, pp. 263-269, 1978. 60Robert Fulmer, "Communication--The Idea Trans- plant" The New'Management, p. 296. 48 Hoback61 supported the part teachers can play to reduce absenteeism by saying, The foundation of an effective attendance policy must be in the practices of the classroom teacher. If a teacher has severe truancy problems among his students, it may indicate severe weakness in that teacher's effectiveness. More student input evaluation of teaching effectiveness may help to reduce the feelings of futility and alienation that may be associated with truancy. Associated with boring lessons of the teachers in Anambra maybe teacher absenteeism from schools. Admittedly some schools are understaffed. But there is very visible evidence in the schools that some classes and lessons go without teachers even when the teachers have been provided for them. The same teachers who punish students when the students are absent from school also absent themselves from school ir- regularly. Suprina62 reported that the number one reason given by the student body of Hauppauge (N.Y.) High School for cutting classes was the existence of a substitute teacher in lieu of the regularly assigned class teacher. Substitute teachers may hold the classes when the regular teachers are absent from the school. In the case of Anambra State of Nigeria, the students are worse off because the 61John Hoback, "The Problem of Attendance," NASSP Bulletin, February 1976, pp. 21- 29. ‘ 62R. Suprina, "Cutting Down on Student Cutting," NASSP Bulletin, February 1979, p. 28. 49 schools cannot talk of substitute teachers when they do not have the basic required number of teachers to cover all les- sons. The use of corporal punishment be it caning, de- tention, manual labor, etc. is still very widespread in the high schools in Anambra State. Although teachers are not permitted to use the cane without due permission from their principals, the law is not observed in practice in many schools. King63 observed that when the cane is too much used by the teachers, its effect is lost. Again fear is not a good in- centive to behavior. Therefore teachers should not make stu- dents do things merely through fear of punishment. Verville64 disapproved the use of corporal punishment by saying, Traditional penalities for recalcitrant students--detention after school, pad- dling, and suspension-~seldom have any effect on the habitual offender. Stott65 also recognizes that some truants who feared to go to school do so because they anticipated.some punishment or disagreeable encounter with another pupil. In Anambra schools the punishment may not always come from the class teacher.Physical 63V. King, 0p.cit., pp. 30-32 6“Elinor Verville, 0p.cit., p. 359 65D. Stott, 0p.cit., p. 105. 50 punishment may be experienced in the hands of fellow students when students fight each other. If a student is always beaten up in the school, his security and safety are threatened. The student begins to associate the school with insecurity. The school becomes a place to be avoided as there is no protection 66 there. Stott acknowledges that an encounter with a fellow student may make a student to absent himself from school. 67 68 has this to say Verville also agrees with Stott. Asare on the question of bullying: A child may dislike going to school because there may be another child in the school who beats or worries him. Asare still adds another factor which may relate to student absenteeism. He noticed that a teacher may have a personal antagonism with someone connected with the stu- dent in his class. The teacher may wreak his revenge on the child. What the teacher does is to avoid the child or treat him harshly for trivial errors. The teacher deliber- ately refuses to report or check the absence of the student to the principal of the school. This neglect is harmful to the individual student. And it is criminal for any teacher to engage in such acts. Similar cases of negligence of students by the teachers may exist in Anambra high schools. 660. Stott, Ibid.; p. 105. 67Elinor Verville, 0p. cit., p. 360 68E. Asare, 0p.cit., p. 30. 51 Some teachers mark present for students who are absent in the class without seeing the students physically. Many a time roll calls are not even conducted. Some teachers mark the whole week's register of attendance under ten min- utes. This is an exercise that takes about thirty minutes each day if it is properly carried out. When the teachers do this, little do they know that their students watch and observe them. By this act, students feel right away that attendance does not matter to the teachers who do this. Parents have no way of knowing when their sons and daughters absent themselves from school. As the register of attendance is not well marked, no attempt is made to notify parents of absenteeism cases. Teachers who indulge in such exercise should be aware of the enormous consequences of such acts. Fagbulu69 has warned that although parents are not aware of their legal rights in Nigeria, it cannot be presumed that they will remain so much longer. Fagbulu went on to confirm that there has been cases of pupils being absent from school because they have been sent on errands by a teacher or by other people connected with the school. This abuse of office jeopardizes the future of the student. 69A. Fagbulu, "The Roll Call," Administrative Practice for Teachers, p. 12-13. ' 52 In Anambra, instances may abound where the class register of attendance is abandoned to either the class perfect or anyone the teacher chooses. Students have mis- used this opportunity because they never mark absent for themselves or their friends the days they never came to school. It is also easy for the attendance rate of a ha- bitual absentee to look good because he could influence what should be marked for him. It is therefore difficult to diag- nose what is academically wrong with students whose records Show that they are always present in the school yet they are often physically absent. Teachers who abandon the record-keeping aspect of their job neglected their duty. They should be fully pre- pared to bear the full responsibility of whatever may result from improper marking of the register of attendance. The importance of record-keeping generally is emphasized by 70 Davenport when he said, The establishment and main- tenance of an accurate sys- tem of record keeping is essential. 71 Moos and Moos in a study of the classroom social climate and student absences and grades have said that re- lated research has shown the absenteeism in work settings is high when the subordinates have little autonomy, are not 70 Irvin Davenport, 0p.cit., pp. 7 and 40. 71R. Moos and B. Moos, 0p. cit., p. 264. 53 allowed to make some decisions that affect them and have few opportunities to learn new skills. They predicted on the basis of these findings that teacher control is pos- itively related to students' absenteeism in the schools. That the teacher is the live-wire of the class- 72 room activities is summarized by Street. He said, Another important point is that some instructors bring so much life and realism to the class that attendance is never a problem. School-Community Relations Schools are built within communities. The School is not an isolated island. Rather it is part of the community in which it is built. Even the students who go to schools are members of the community. If this is so, the various school activities should reflect the values, culture and aspirations of the community. The essence of schooling is for uSe towards the improvement of the community. If pupils learn hygiene, vernacular, agriculture, math and science sub- jects in the school, the outcome of what has been learned should be used for improving poor living standards, unmech- anized farming methods and for the general welfare of the en- larged Nigerian community. The schools also depend on the community for material and financial support for them to carry out their activities effectively. The school is not and should 72Donald Street, 0p.cit., p. 127. 54 not be an ivory tower where knowledge is gained for its own sake. Mbiti,73 in his contribution to the administration of the school has this to say: Knowledge is not simply for the sake of passing examinations but mainly for enabling man to lead a better life in his environment. Parents express their Opinions about their schools through such avenues like parent-teacher association, school committee, board of governors of the school. Principals and teachers must respect their Opinions, give attention to their suggestions and seek their advice and support. Supporting 74 the above view, Mbiti said, Thus an efficient headmaster knows that the success of his school ad- ministration depends on his ability to rally the support of parents. - In support of the same view, Fagabulu75 said, Apart from ensuring that the programmes of the schools are those relevant to the goals of the community, P.T.A.s have additional functions. Where funds are short for instance, groups of parents might arrange to take over essential services for part of the school day in the library or clinic or in conducting games or preparing for the school play. 73David Mbiti, "School Administration," Foundations of School Administration, Nairobi, Oxford University Press, P- 1. 197 . 7#David Mbiti, Ibid., p. 52. 75A. Fagbulu, 0p.cit., p. 79-80. 55 Parents are not homogenuous. By being in parent- teacher association or school committees, avenues of com- munications between the home and schools are Opened, the misunderstanding between the home and the schools due to lack of communication is reduced. The OOOperation between the home and the schools reduces absenteeism of students from the schools as they may now know that the parents and teachers can easily know what they do. The importance of good school-community relations 76 when the Harlem School District of is shown by Hakanen Rockford, Illinois was confronted with a high rate of stu- dent absenteeism in 1975. A program called Students and Teachers Really Interested in DrOp Out Education (STRIDE) was initiated in 1976 because of the problem of student ab- senteeism in the district. The purpose of the "Stride" pro- gram was not to replace the regular school. It is aimed at rehabilitating absentees who are potential drop-outs and to return them to the regular school program. Admission to the "Stride" program was not Open to capable students who were looking for an "easy" way through high school. Rather student eligibility was determined in a weekly staff meeting Of the Assistant Principal, School Psychologist, School Counselor and the "Stride" teacher. 76Lauri Hakanen, 0p.cit., pp. 307-319, January 1978. 56 Once eligibility was determined the procedure is that parents and members of the community are contacted to seek their permission to place their children in the VStride" program where such children had been found eligible for the program. If the parents turn the request down, the affected children remain with the regular program. If the parents of the affected children agree, such children are placed in the "Stride" program. Class rosters were compiled for both morn- ings and afternoon sessions for the program. The status of each student in the program was followed closely by the "Stride" teacher who made regular progress reports on each student to the Principal. This made regular communication possible between the Principal and the parents, the principal and the day school staff, the principal and district level administrators. The student remained in the "Stride? program on a semester-tO-semester basis. The maximum duration of fStrideV program for each student is one year in order to allow more students to take part in the program. The credits completed in "Stride" program were applied toward graduation and ath- letic eligibility. The regular school subjects are studied by the "Stride" students. In addition to this, the fStridef students also study the problems of getting and holding a job during the first half of the day. In the second half of the day, they seek employment or work outside the school. Among the achievement of the "Stride? program, at- tendance was greatly improved, staff morale was high, the 57 "Stride" students develOped a new found interest in school and self. TOO many students sought admission into the pro- gram. But only a few were taken each time. Thus cooperation between the school and members of the community may greatly improve student attendance. Parker and McCoy77 wrote to say that school-based intervention of systematic telephone contacts with parents for attendance problems in the early grades is important for both the school systems and the child. It is easy to implement. It is effective in increasing attendance. It is economically advantageous for the school systems since financial support is dependent upon average daily attendance. Lipham and Hoeh78 have recognized the essence of good school-community relations by saying that the Principal must become intimately acquainted with the values, expec- tations, needs and aspirations of the local community be- fore the Principal could develop a sound program of school- community relations which may help to reduce student absen- teeism. 77Frank Parker and James McCoy, 0p.cit., pp. 84-88 78James Lipham and James Hoeh, "The Principal and The Community,9 0p.cit., p. 320. ' CHAPTER III METHODOLOGY OF THE STUDY Plan for Securing the Data In November 1978, an application to conduct the re- search study in Anambra State in Nigeria was lodged with the Federal Ministry of Education, Scholarships Division, Lagos, Nigeria through the Consulate-General of Nigeria in New York. It was necessary that the application be sent early in order that enough time would be left for all the Office procedures and the transactions to take place in New York and Lagos (See Appendix I). An approval to conduct the study in Anambra State of Nigeria came from the Scholarships Division of the Federal. Ministry of'Education, Lagos, Nigeria (See Appendix II). Another application for the ticket was made directly to the Consulate-General of Nigeria in New York City (See Ap- pendix III). When no response came, it became imperative that a trip to New York was necessary. The round-trip air ticket was secured in person in January 1980. It was not necessary to given an early notice to the principals of schools because the schools whose principals would be used for the study would depend upon the information from the Anambra State Ministry of Education, Enugu. 58 59 Development of the_instrument and Plan for ip§_Administration The instrument for the study was develOped under the guidance of the dissertation committee. After an extensive review of literature, there was a concerted effort to put together some of the ideas. The Nigerian students on campus were also asked to enumerate the factors that relate to stu- dent absenteeism in high schools in Nigeria. The major focus of the survey was on school-related factors of student ab- senteeism. The synthesis of the different ideas resulted in two forms of instrument to be used in gathering the data. One form of the instrument utilized a Likert-type scale while the other form used Open-ended questions (See Appendix IV). The Likert-type questionnaire was subdivided into four sec- tions. Statements 1.1 to 1.16 belong to School Administra- tion and Management. Statements 2.17 to 2.30 represent Teacher Activities. Statements 3.31 to 3.36 represent Means of Student Control. Statements 4.37 to 4.44 stand for School-Community Relations. The open-ended instrument was attached at the end of the Likert-type instrument. The instructions on how to com- plete both instruments was attached at the beginning of the package. There were frequent correspondences to Anambra State in Nigeria to ascertain when the high schools were due to 60 close for the Easter break. A round-trip ticket from the Consulate-General of Nigeria's Office in New'York enabled the researcher to administer the instruments. With a letter of introduction, the researcher was able to gain admittance to the various schools in the sample (Appendix VI). A po- litical map of Nigeria shows where the study took place. Information data on attendance in the various high schools in Anambra State were secured from the State Ministry of Education, Enugu. This data was Obtained without the know- ledge Of the principals because of their concern that the findings might affect their school grants or future promo- tions. Such feelings would affect the way the principals would respond to the instruments. Pilot Study Some Nigerian students on campus who had been prin- cipals of high schools in Nigeria were used to try out the two forms Of the data-gathering instruments. This procedure enabled the researcher to improve the quality of the state- ments. The pilot study enabled a thorough check of the plan- ned statistical and analytical procedures and their adequacy in treating the data. The preliminary testing of the hypo- theses was possible through the pilot study. Both instruments are the pencil-and-paper type suit- able for individual response. The approximate time for the response to all the items in both instruments was thirty-five 61 mmSBUDmem E¢BmlszMZH2 .a _ c 0.0 s. a v.3... 2:62.: .... .-. a .3290 at .. . to; L . 4 .s .... a .... .. .. . -.. . . .y. .. 3...: .6 ......ie I: 01¢"!!- . .u-mll'o. an» 9‘ o 0 mfo:\0.h_ssOIOo ...r. 3.25 .v Jnv ru 0 : .... L o a .. ..\ ..1 x ..t on. \ *nnhaz\\4uezue... .3230 2.3 o .3. RA.“ .\\ . pg ... 2.0 ...:n. ... .. 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I. ...-ll {o’:’d ‘u’c‘ 0' \s J’ . 3’. o.o\- wi.‘ 3' N «at I. l.\ I. _ s a . ... V .5532... 2 ¢ x « .:.\ \ ~/ I o z z o o 2.3. . .. .s .z u w a /. ..- 1... .. .. / . M o a o c. o a \_ \.\. . . \ol’.’.’ \ l’oJ \ogw/ 0.0.0“ I .~ o,’."oalollc‘c\-’o‘ . /luo\o / .— 2423: «we... .2 \l. (I . - O. . a “jl‘c\.nlc|€.l.\.\ I—v $2.62; when I 2352;. .5522- 62 minutes. But there was no time limit set for all the re- sponses. Responses were made by marking an "X9 over the number which indicated the perception of each respondent against each statement. For example, each statement of the questionnaire has four alternative responses, namely: "Strongly Agree" is represented by # "Agree" is represented by 3 "Disagree" is represented by 2 "Strongly Disagree" is represented by l Sampling5Methog Each of the 165 high schools were assigned a number. Using a table of random numbers, a simple random sample of 40 schools were obtained from the population. The instruments were administered to the forty prin- cipals of these schools. 0f the principals selected, there were twenty-one (21) males and nineteen (19) females. Twenty- nine (29) of the principals selected have had one to ten years (1-10 years) eXperience while eleven (11) of the principals have had eleven or more years of experience as high school principals. All the principals selected hold either a Each- elor of Arts or Bachelor of Science Degree. Statistical Methodology The statistical treatments of the data in this study were done through the use of the facilities of the Computer Laboratory, Michigan State University. Data was processed 63 through the use of the Statistical Package for the Social Sciences (SPSS) program. The SPSS program was used to cal- culate the means, frequencies, percentage frequencies, cross- tabulations (X2) and the contingency coefficients. Content analysis was used to process and analyze the data from the open-ended questionnaire. The content analy- sis used in this study was adapted from the work of Oberg?9 Repeated checkings of the content analysis was done to verify the results obtained. The content analysis is used to cal- culate the most frequently mentioned factors of student ab- senteeism. The following statistical procedure were employed: 1. The Xz-test was used to test the relationship in perception between the reSpondents' sex and experience. 2. The contingency coefficient (C) was used to determine the degree or strength of relationship between the responses to the characteristics and the sex; and between the responses to the char- acteristics and eXperience of the respondents as the data were in frequencies and a table larger than 2 x 2 was involved. 3. The content analysis was used to process the data gathered with the open-ended questions. The 79Winston Oberg, "Cross-Cultural Perspectives On Management Principles," Journal of the Academcy of Manage- .mggfi, June 1963, pp. 129-lh3. 64 results of the Open-ended questions were used to validate the results of the Likert-type in- strument. The results are also used to gener- ate information for further studies. Summary A Likert-type of four alternative item questionnaire and an open-ended questionnaire were develOped to investi- gate the school-related factors of student absenteeism in high schools in Anambra State of Nigeria. Both question- naires were designed to obtain information from high school principals on what they perceived or observed as school- related factors of student absenteeism in the high schools. The instruments were designed with the help of and approved by the dissertation guidance committee. Guidance was ob- tained also from the Office of Research and Consultation at Michigan State University in the development of the statis- tical design. The instruments were administered in person by the researcher to 40 high school principals selected in a simple random fashion in Anambra State of Nigeria. All the 40 ques- tionnaires were collected. All the hypotheses were tested at ¢= .05 level of significance. An analysis of the data are presented in Chapter IV. CHAPTER IV PRESENTATION OF DATA The chapter contains the general hypotheses and the operational hypotheses tested, a summary of the find- ings, the detailed responses to the Likert-type scale by respondents (See Table l), the summary of the responses by respondents (See Table 2), the statistical results (Table 3), and the results of the Open-ended questions (Tables 5 and 6). The hypotheses being tested are stated in the null form and are designated by the symbol Ho' The .05 level of significance is used to make a decision to accept or reject the null hypotheses. Using the appropriate degree of free- 2 is greater than the ex- dom, if the calculated value of X pected table value, the null hypothesis is rejected; other- wise, the null hypothesis is accepted. The frequency, the percentage of response and the mean of the reSponses are used to show how the respondents perceive the relatedness of the variables and student ab- senteeism. In the Tables N.S. denotes "Not Significant" and S denotes "Significant". 65 66 General Hypothesis 1 {Tables 1,2L3 and 4: 1.1 - 1.16) The principals of high schools in Anambra State of Nigeria will perceive the research questions related to ad- ministration and management of schools as factors of student absenteeism in the schools. Hla: There will be no statistically significant dif- ferences between men and women principals' perception on the administration and management questions related to reasons for student absenteeism in the schools. Hlb: There will be no statistically significant dif- ferences in the perception of the principals in the differ- ent levels of eXperiences on the administration and manage- ment questions related to reasons for student absenteeism in the schools. Results: "Sex" or "EXperience" of the respondents does not make a statistically significant difference in the way they perceive the administration and management char- acteristics generally. The principals in the different ex- perience levels differ significantly in their perception of the relationship between student absenteeism and lack of enforcement of compulsory attendance. General H othesis 2 Tables 1 2 and #: 2.1 - 2.30). The principals of high schools in Anambra State of Nigeria will perceive the research questions related to 67 teacher activities as factors of student absenteeism in the schools. H2a: There will be no statistically significant differences in perception between men and women principals on the teacher activities questions related to reasons for student absenteeism in the schools. H2b: There will be no statistically significant differences in perception among the principals on the dif- ferent levels of experience concerning teacher activities related to reasons for student absenteeism in the schools. Results: The "Sex" or "EXperience" of the respondents makes no statistically significant difference in the way they perceive the research questions related to teacher activities as factors of student absenteeism in high schools. But the principals in the different experience levels differ signi- ficantly in their perception of the relationship between student absenteeism and sending students out of the class due to inattentiveness. General H othesis Tables 1 2 and 4: . l - 3.36). The principals of high schools in Anambra State of Nigeria will perceive the research questions related to means of student control as factors of student absenteeism in the schools. 68 H3a: There will be no statistically significant dif— ferences between men and women principals' perception con- cerning the means of student control related to reasons for student absenteeism in the schools. H3b: There will be no statistically significant dif- ferences in the perception of principals with different levels of experiences concerning the means of student control re- lated to reasons for student absenteeism in the schools. Results: The "Sex" or "Experience" of the respondents does not make a statistically significant difference in the way they perceive the relationship between student absentee— ism and the research questions related to means of student control. However, the male and female principals differ significantly in their perception of student bullying as a factor of student absenteeism in the high schools. General Hypothesis 4 (Tables 1,2,3 and h: 4.37 - #.44). The principals of high schools in Anambra State of Nigeria will perceive questions related to school-community relations as factors of student absenteeism in the schools. Hna: There will be no statistically significant dif- ferences in perception between men and women principals on the school-community relations questions related to reasons for student absenteeism in the schools. Hub: There will be no statistically significant dif- ferences in the perception of principals in the different 69 levels of eXperience on the school-community relations ques- tions related to reasons for student absenteeism in the schools. Results: Generally, the respondents do not differ significantly either by "Sex" or "Experiencef concerning their perceptions of the relationship between student ab- senteeism and the research questions related to school- community relations. The data revealed that all principals hold first degrees. The analysis of the research questions by fquali- fications" is therefore unnecessary. The means and per- centage frequencies show how the principals perceive the characteristics as related to student absenteeism. The criteria for determining the degree of relationship of the characteristics to student absenteeism follows the presen— tation of the data. 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