Absenteeism is one of the most basic issues to understand a way to what extent the educational needs of the children are met by the school. If the students are refusing or escaping from the education it is important to question “What is wrong with the education?” or “is something happening in the classroom or in the school or with the student?”. Chronic absenteeism can have an important factor related to some of the dangerous behaviour such as violence, substance abuse, physical injury, suicidal thoughts, early pregnancy which all should be noticed.
Causes of Absenteeism originating from the family:
The reasons for absenteeism in a few cases have the possibility of families as well:
- The Family-child relationship – Not taking care of the child, Being overly oppressive.
- Ignoring of Absenteeism – Too much family plans like weddings, shopping, tours, etc.
- Family Problems – Death of parents, divorce, violence, Etc.
- View of education- Failure to understand the importance of education for parents.
- Economic Issues- Financial difficulties, working at an early age, etc.
Absenteeism originating from the administration:
- Administrator-student relationship- Negative attitude to students, overly oppressive,etc.
- Teacher-student relationship – Lack of attention, Use of negative words, frightening,etc.
- In-class behaviour of teachers – Homework pressure, Humiliation, physical punishment etc.
- Attitudes towards absenteeism – Not inform the parents, ignoring the child’s absenteeism.
Absenteeism originating from school:
- School structure – The lack of socio-cultural activities, course difficulty, etc.
- Negative school atmosphere – Peer bullying, exclusion of students, insecure feeling, etc.
Absenteeism originating from students:
- Adaptation to school – Disliking schools, teachers &subjects, failure to adapt, etc.
- Individual reasons – Illness, psychological causes, school phobia, learning difficulties, etc.
- Relationship with the environment – Bad circle of friends, Bad habits, involved in crime, etc.
Absenteeism causes from the environment:
- Environmental factors – Transportation difficulties, bad weather, negative media impact, etc.
There are several reasons to look in child absenteeism. It should be determined to take into the above factors. Instead of labelling a child, the necessary attention & support must be provided to the child as well as the family who are not aware of these.
