Assessment+3+-+Chapter+2

2.0 Introduction

This chapter discussed about the absenteeism among 2nd year of FSKKP student. There are three topic discuss in this chapter which are reasons for absenteeism among UMP student, effect of absenteeism on their performance and the best suggestion to solve absenteeism problem.

** 2.1 ****__ What are the reasons for absenteeism among UMP student. __** The causes of absenteeism are social problem, family problem and personal variables.

2.1.1 Social problem. It is a fact that the cause of this absenteeism is because of social problem. Galichon and Friedman (1985) says that rated the most important reasons which cause the students not to attend the courses as that the course is boring, that what is taught at the courses do not fulfill the expectations of the employers, that they don’t like the lecture itself or the lecturer and that what is taught at the courses will not be useful in their career they are going to choose in the future at the end of their interviews with the students.

2.1.2 Family problem. Although there have been studies on the family dynamics of anxious nonattenders (e.g. Kearney & Silverman, 1995), most studies on the causes of non-attendance have focused on truants. These studies have identified deficient guidance or parental supervision (Baker, Sigmon, & Nugent, 2001; Henry, 2007), poverty and substandard living conditions (Baker, Sigmon, & Nugent, 2001; Bethke & Sandfeur, 1998; Rohrman, 1993), and lack of awareness of attendance laws (Baker, Sigmon, & Nugent, 2001) as causes of students’ non-attendance.

2.1.3 Personal variables. Galichon and Friedman (1985) says that the reasons which cause the students not to attend the courses as that the course is boring, that what is taught at the courses do not fulfill the expectations of the employers, they don’t like the lecture itself or the lecturer and that what is taught at the courses will not be useful in their career they are going to choose in the future at the end of their interviews with the students. Dhalwal (2003) determined the reasons of the absenteeism of the students, from the most important to the least important, as the reasons rooting from illness, lecturer or the subject matter, familial reasons, individual studying, getting prepared for the examinations, rainy day, entertaining, relief because the previous examinations are good and failure in the previous examinations.

** 2.2 ****__ What __****__ are the effects of absenteeism on performance? __** The effects of absenteeism are academic performance, exam performance and student performance.

2.2.1 Academic Performance Absenteeism has a detrimental effect on student learning. Several authors in the economic discipline have argued the affirmative although none has established a causal linkage using experimental data and appropriate statistical analysis. Rodgers (2001; cf Romer, 1993) described approximately one third of students were absent from class on a given day. Several analyses of cross section data have found a strong association between students’ attendance and performance. Marburger (2001) report the issue of absenteeism using a panel of observation on 60 students in an introductory microeconomics class at a medium-sized. Observations were collected on each student’s performance on several tests. Academic performance is hypothesized to be a function of the student’s attendance and other variables some of which are unobservable, such as the student’s motivation and aptitude for the subject matter.

2.2.2 Exam performance Dobkin and Gil(2001) estimate the effect of class attendance on exam performance by implementing a policy in three large economics classes that required students scoring below the median on the midterm exam to attend class. They estimate that near the policy threshold, the post-midterm attendance rate was 36 percentage points higher for those students facing compulsory attendance. The discontinuous attendance policy is also associated with a significant difference in performance on the final exam. They also estimate that a 10 percentage point increase in a student’s overall attendance rate results in a 0.17 standard deviation increase in the final exam score without adversely affecting performance on other classes taken concurrently.

2.2.3 Student performance The body of literature clearly indicates an inverse relationship between absenteeism and student performance. The results of this study support Romer’s contention that a significant link exists between absenteeism and learning. In the absence of a mandatory attendance policy, absenteeism rose continually throughout the semester. In sharp contrast, daily absenteeism in the policy class remained fairly constant throughout the semester. Nonetheless, economic educators should note that whereas the relationship between a mandatory attendance policy and learning is statistically significant, the impact does not appear to be substantial. During the final third of the semester, when the absenteeism gap between the policy and no-policy classes was greatest, a student in the no-policy class was only 2 percent more likely to respond incorrectly to the average multiple-choice test question than was a student in the policy class.

** 2.3 ****__ What are the best suggestions to solve this problem? __** The ways to overcomes absenteeism are by their government, university and family.

2.3.1 Government. In a report published by the Discipline Unit, School Division, Ministry of Education (1994), absenteeism is the top discipline problem in college and university. The report which was intended to provide guidelines for lecturers and administrators reported that the number of students who were absent from college was increasing from year to year. Even though the percentage for absenteeism is relatively small, the problem might expand and become more severe in future if nothing is done to curb it. The data reported that from 2,004,979 students taken as sample in the survey, 32,092 students were involved in this problem. Even if the percentage is relatively low (1.6%), absenteeism problem still is the top disciplinary problem in college throughout Malaysia. This has been going on for decades and it is hoped that the suggestions derived from lecturers and students in this study will assist the process of overcoming the problem.

2.3.2 University. However, for schools and school networks to exclusively concentrate of measures preventing absenteeism without also redressing current attendance problems and identifying the individuals and/or groups involved. The literature also provides some specific advice regarding responses to nominated forms of absenteeism that may form part of broader interventions and frameworks for addressing attachment. By way of example, much has been written regarding the need for accuracy, consistency and ongoing review of mechanisms for measuring truancy. It is important that any attendance statistics take into account lateness, early leaving, skipped lessons as well as absence for the durations of the school day. The statistics should differentiate between authorised and unauthorised absence, and any unauthorised absence should be immediately followed up with parents.

2.3.3 Class performance. It is believed that a classroom is a small society where students first learn how to live with other people and adapt to their environment before actually starting to live as an adult. Classrooms, which are undisciplined, obviously lack morality (Carlen, Gleeson and Wardhaugh, 1992) and therefore need some remedy to cure the problem. Suggestion system, as used in this study is hoped to fulfil the need. Other suggestions include teachers using positive reinforcement rather than negative reinforcement, and teachers listening more closely to the individual needs of students. Several young people also suggest school work should be more closely tied to real life examples and experiences.

** 2.4 ****__ Conclusion __** In conclusion, research reveals a lot of important information about student attendance. Identifying students early on who show signs of absenteeism is a predicator of warning signs of students dropping out. Even though truancy is a major issue in middle school and high school, perhaps students should be identified and monitored early on in elementary school. Educators need to continue to find innovative ways to bridge the gap between home and school to communicate with parents the need for a strong partnership so students can find success. Students need to know that coming to university on time, everyday is important. Educators, when faced with schools that have attendance problems may need to venture out beyond the wall of the school, into the community to involve families and work together.