ABSTRACT
This
study focused on the influence of truancy on the academic performance of
secondary school students in Enugu East Local Government Area of Enugu State.
The objective of the study was to find out the causes of truancy and its
effects on the academic performance to be able to make an efficient solution to
the problem of truancy in Enugu East Local Government Area of Enugu State.
Three (3) research questions were formulated to guide the study. The literature
review which borders on the work done by different scholars on the topic the
effect of truancy on the academic performance of students in furtherance of the
successful completion of this project. The population of the study was (4276)
forty two thousand seven hundred and six students in some selected secondary
schools in Enugu East Local Government. The instrument used for data collection
was a questionnaire, containing (15) items from the research questions to
elicit students opinion. The data collected was presented in tables. Mean,
standard deviations were used to analyze the data collected. At the end, the researcher found out that
Truancy is caused by the following factors: home upbringing, school factor. Based
on the findings, the researchers pointed out the effects of truancy such as:
student dropout, constant repetition of class.
Finally,
based on the finding, the researcher recommended the following as the possible
solution to the problems: Government, teachers, parents and students should take
over the responsibility of the effective implementation on how to eradicate
truancy in order to develop and appreciate learning.
CHAPTER
ONE
INTRODUCTION
Background
of the study
Truancy is the absence of student from
school without any justifiable reason. T he school is a social unit established
by the members of the society, as a formal agency of education which the young
(students) attends to learn about themselves, other people, as well as
language, custom attitude and the way of life. Truancy is the serious problem
in our country today especially in the cities.
Education can be defined as the
transmission of the value and accumulation of knowledge of a culture, molding
behavior in the way of adulthood, and directing them towards eventual role in
society. Education is there to help people become useful member of the society,
should also help them to develop an appreciation of their cultural heritage and
live more satisfying lives.
However, staying in school is the first
step towards achieving good education,
In order to achieve academic excellence, student are required by school
law to attend classes daily but some factors have caused most students to absent
themselves from school activities hence engaging in “Truancy “. It has become a
known fact that Nigerian educational standard are on serious decline due to the
problem of truancy and other anti –social maladice like cultism, indiscipline
etc. The production of individual who will help accelerate Nigerian development
is partly dependent on the individual willingness to learn. This means that
attendance to school and more importantly classes is very important if the
objectives of education must be achieved. Some school does not tolerate
truancy, so whenever a student exceed the highest allowed absence set by the
school, they will face the consequences of being expelled from the school and
it has a negative impact on the student
academic performance.
Historically,
the origin of truancy can be traced back to the Massachusetts Compulsory
Education Act of 1647 and its subsequent School Attendance Act of 1852 which
mandated parents to send their children to school for at least twelve (12)
weeks in a term (Micheal, 2005). To this Act, every school is required by law
to notify any student who acquires five unexcused absence within a school year.
It is through this unexcused absence from school without legitimate or legal
knowledge of the parents, guardian or the school authority that truancy among
students came into existence.
Truancy:
This could be defined as the practice by
which the student leave home for school but do not reach their destination
rather they stay mid way between home and school when school close. They return
carrying their boxes or bag and go home in accompany of their mates in the
pretence that they have close or returned from school. Also, it the practice of
staying away from school without permission. In other words, it is the act of
staging away from school without a reasonable excuse.
Truant:
A child who stays away from schools without permission.
In the same vain,
Nwachukwu (2004) said that a truant is one who absents him/herself from classes
and school functions, comes late to classes and returns days or even weeks
after the beginning of each term without any good permission. Meanwhile
Nwachukwu (1999) opined that if a student’s character does not conform with the
already mapped out rules and regulations with regards to class attendance and
other school activities, that such student is regarded as a truant.
According to Baker,
sigmon and Nugent (2001), voluminous research indicates that school problems
including: academic failure, juvenile delinquency, gang activity and drug
abuse. Nonetheless, the present researchers believe that some of the causes of
truancy are non- student factors like, inadequate parental care, cruel
teachers, and poor school management.
In the light of the
above, Nwangwu (1991) reported that most parents usually over look their
responsibilities in training their children rather they try to transfer their
roles to the school, neglecting their vital roles of nurturing the character of
the child at home. It does not mean that a teacher has not got their own
shortcomings. Araonyer (1991) said that some teachers are chief truant who come
to school at will while some make lessons very difficult for the student by
jumping into the class without proper preparation for the lesson. The present
researchers observed that in any school where management has a laissez – faire
approach to disciplinary issues like, punctuality, neatness, moral conduct etc
the students show lackadaisical attitude to school functions and thus revert to
truancy. Fitzgerald (2005) explained that school attendance is an important
factor in the development of child’s future. Success in school often leads to a
bright and promising future for a student.
He further opined that
many students stray away from school and become involved in negative activities
such as drug abuse, delinquent behavior and gang activity. Sigmon and Nugent
(2001) warned that not only does truancy have an immediate effect on the
secondary school student; it also extends far into student’s adult years with
increased likelihood of incarceration. The National policy on Education (2004)
defined secondary Education, as the education children receive after primary
Education and before the tertiary stage. Post primary school board (PPSMB)
statistical record PRS (2009) shows that there are ten governments owned
secondary schools in Enugu East local Government Area of Enugu State. Today,
among the students of the schools there was many truants and deviant behaviour
has greatly hindered the progress of the schools generally. I have taken it up
as a responsibility to find out the causes of the truancy and the way to stop
the evil. This long essay on the causes of truancy is intended to take a
critical look into one or the major rules that influence students to the
truancy in secondary schools. Some of the truant’s students will go with their
fellow students to indulge in watch video in their own resident.
Justice R. A. L.
Ogbobin, said that broken homes are assess to truancy. Truancy is a great
danger in a discipline schools possibly the whole students in the school to
delinquent. This is true because students initiative and don’t at the moment
realized the consequences of their delinquency. The measuring of the truancy in
the secondary school students, I shall be taking a random sample of the truants
find out from that the cause of truancy from their homes, schools and the
society they live. It is against this research in the solution of the above
measure of truancy and not far fetch. The teacher should advice the parents of
the students to provide the students with adequate or requisite school
materials and also let parents know the problem if causes failing to do so,
teacher should not bully on the students, because hinder the students
backwardness. A student should be corrected by the teacher. The government
should go further to make law to punish those couples whose home are broken
leaving the children to play truancy.
It is against this
background that this research work is structured to examine the factors and
consequences (effects) of truancy on students of origin and destination which
will be vividly focused on Enugu East. I shall finally suggest suitable
measures that should help to reduce the evil.
Truancy among students
has become a growing problem. It is the act of deliberately missing one or more
classes. Globally, truancy has been regarded as a cankerworm that has eaten
deep into the fabrics of the educational programmes and has caused a lot of
setbacks for secondary school students in their educational pursuits (Stoll,
1993; Gesinde, 2004; Adeyemi, 2006; Animasahun, 2007b). It leads to potential
delinquent activity, social isolation, or educational failure via suspension,
expulsion, or dropping out (Huizinga, Loeber, Thornberry & Cothern, 2000;
Huizinga, Loeber & Thornberry, 1994; Morris, Ehren & Lenz, 1991).
Truancy is any
intentional unauthorized or illegal absence from compulsory schooling. It may
also refer to students who attend school but do not go to classes.
Truancy is non-school
attendance behaviour. It is an irregular attendance of school. Truancy is a
delinquent and antisocial behaviour (Animasahun, 2009). Animasahun (2007a)
suggested truancy to be an act of staying off school, which is one of the
several kinds of antisocial behaviours.
Gabb (1997) is of the
view that a truant student leaves home but does not get to school or escapes
from school or class to engage in any other activities that catch up his
imaginations. Indeed, it is a type of deviant behavior exhibited by some
students in schools without formal permission from the school administration or
authority governing the institution.
Causes and levels of
the contributing factors of truancy are numerous and diverse. Truancy results
from several factors. Truancy is a four-fold problem which stems from the
student, student’s family background, the school and the community. In the same
vein, Osarenren (1996) see the home, school environment, peer group culture and
society as causes of truancy among students. Reports from various parts of the
world upheld that truancy may be associated with adverse social and health
outcome later in life. A number of studies have reported that adults who were
truant as adolescents were more likely to experience marital or job instability
and psychosocial maladjustment when compared to their counterparts who were not
truant as adolescents (Hibbett, Fogelman & Manor, 1990; Tyrer & Tyrer,
1974; Hibbett & Fogelman, 1990). Students, who commit truancy, commit
deviant acts at a higher rate than students who stay in school. Deviant acts
include, but are not limited to theft, burglary, robbery, drug use and sale,
assault, various sex-related crimes, and even murder. Truancy breeds
educational wastage and poor human power development (Rumberger, 1987; Nwagwu,
1999); production of hoodlums, social misfit, antisocial individual and
eventual criminals (Animasahun, 2005) and gateway to crime (Adeyemi, 2011;
Animasahun (2007a). Rohrman (1993) stated that peers have an invaluable and
influential role to play in providing both the support and context necessary
for the learning of new skills and that they act as reinforcing agents of
socialization. In own findings, Baker and Jansen (2000) believe that truancy
leads to lower academic achievements. While Garry (2001) stated that truancy
leads to delinquent and criminal activities. Also, Osarenren (1996) stated that
children attempt to model their behaviours according to what represents the
standard of their peer group. The study in this regard wishes to determine the
causes and effects of truancy among secondary school students using Enugu East
Local Government Area of Enugu State as the case study.
In
a study carried out by soll ( 2002), he defines truancy as “absence from school
for legitimate reason”. He went further to explain that many students do skip
either a single class in a full school day at least during their academic
career. According to the dictionary for
education (2002), truancy is a deliberate absence from school for no medical or
justifiable reason, with or without parental knowledge”. Blair and Jares (1994),
sees truant as “an individual who just not want to go to school but likes to do
something else. Adeyeme (1999), defines truancy as a delinquent act which
occurs when a child often stay away for school without good reasons.
Nwanga
(1996) believes that family background could contribute to truant behaviour of
student. He sees the family as the first window with which a child views the
world. Okoko (2002) supports this by saying that some parents have shifted
their responsibilities to their maids, nannies and even to the school. This means that many students have turned
into truants because their parents fail to monitor their behaviours. Eluu
(2005) maintains that teachers are not helping matters concerning high rate of
truancy in Nigerian education system. The effect of truancy on secondary school
student did not end on how academic performance, they also include other forms
of anti-social behaviour like examination malpractice, drugs abuse, criminal
activities, early pregnancy and school dropout. This is because a student who
is not always in class will surely look for a way of passing an examination
which could be by engaging in examination malpractices. A student could be influence by peers who are
already in the habit of absenting themselves from school to engage in smoking
of mariguana and cigarettes, students leave school to indulge in pre-marital
sex which could result to teenage pregnancy for the girl who eventually dropout
from school, boys sometimes engage in armed robbery which could also end them
in juvenile jail.
The research is aim of
finding out the influence of truancy on the academic performance of students.
The teachers complained on the student’s poor performance in academic. Parents
also may be carrying out their responsibilities on their children by inadequate
studies materials; late payment of school charges can impede students’ becoming
a truant.
Truancy is any
intentional, unjustified, unauthorized, or illegal absence from compulsory
education. It is absence caused by students of their own free will, and usually
does not refer to legitimate excused absences, such as ones related to medical
conditions. Truancy is usually explicitly defined in the school's handbook of
policies and procedures. Some children whose parents claim to home school have
also been found truant in the United States.
Another term for truancy is playing hooky (US English) or skiving off
(British English); Attending school but not going to class is called skipping
class.
In some schools,
truancy may result in not being able to graduate or to receive credit for
classes attended, until the time lost to truancy is made up through a
combination of detention, fines, or summer school.
Statement of problem
School
has been established as an agent of the society to mould the habits, interest,
attitudes and feelings of student and transmit the societal norms, culture,
values and traditions from one generation to another. One thing that is clear
in this issue is that there is a growing tendency for students to be involved
in social vices, such as truancy, stealing, smoking, rioting among others. This
is because most home no longer play their traditional function to rear and
bring up their child in an upright manner. This occurs because many parents are
so preoccupied with duties (working and travelling) outside the home that they
have little or no time to keep watch over the actions and behaviour of their
children. Many student run away from schools while in many of the case, the
parents believe that they are attending classes, while they are away from
school; they exercise freedom in engaging in a lot of juvenile delinquencies
like fighting and drug abuse.
In
recent times, truancy has becomes a regular habit among students. There so many
causes of student poor academic performance in schools, some students put up
non-chalant attitude to academic work and no longer regard teachers as people
representing the authority. They prefer to roam the streets, selling pure
water, doing some manual jobs, playing outside school rather than face their
work in school. During school hours, they go out to watch inter-house sports
competition in other schools even when their schools are not invited, while
their co-students are learning in the school.
In most of the schools, there is no conducive
atmosphere for learning. This is due to fact that schools are highly populated,
poorly equipped and understaffed. Since student cannot cope with their
unfavourable conditions, which these schools are placed, this eventually leads
to truancy and other social vices found in our society today. Due to this
disorder in the school system, this study is set critically investigate the
influence of truancy on the academic performance of secondary school students
in Enugu East Local Government Area in Enugu State.
Purpose
of the study
The
main purpose of this study is to investigate the influence of truancy on the
academic performance of secondary school student in Enugu East local government
area.
i.
To find out truant behaviours among
secondary school students in Enugu East Local Government Area.
ii.
To determine the causes of truant
behaviour among secondary school students in Enugu East Local Government Area.
iii.
Identify the negative effects of truancy
in academic performance of students in Enugu East Local Government Area.
Significance
of the study
The
researcher hope that the result of this research work shall be beneficial to
the following: school administration, parents, graduates and undergraduates,
the government and secondary school students.
The
school administrators: Educational administrators like,
guidance and counselors, principals, vice principal and teacher will gain
immensely from this research or study because it will examine the various cause
and consequences of truancy and state ways to curbing it, which will serve as
an essential instrument for effective school administration.
The
parents: Equally, this research or study will bring to the
knowledge of parents why and how their children engage in truant behaviours and
also suggest to them ways of stopping the havoc.
Graduate
and undergraduates: This research will be also be of
beneficial to graduates and undergraduate students who are studying
administration in the field of education as it will give them insight on how to
handle truant students.
The
students: This study will most significant to secondary
school students because it will expose how truancy retards their academic
achievement/performance.
The
government: It is significant to the government
because it will help device and apply ways of stopping truancy in school. In
order to achieve a qualitative education which will at the same time enhance
national development?
Scope
of the study
The
scope of this research will be limited to the secondary school student in Enugu
East local government area. The content will also limited to investigate the
influence of truancy on academic performance of secondary school students.
However, the scope of this work shall cover five (5) selected secondary
schools.
Research
questions
The
following questions are formulated to guide the study:
i.
What are the truant behaviours
among secondary school students in Enugu
East Local Government Area
ii.
What are the causes of truant behaviours among
secondary school students in Enugu east Local Government Area
iii.
What are negative effects of truancy in
academics performance of student in
Enugu East Local Government Area
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