Student Absenteeism in Secondary Education, Absenteeism-Related School Practices and Recommended Policies

Abstract

This research has been conducted to determine student absenteeism in secondary education, issue-related school practices and recommended policies to eliminate this problem. This research is a mixed study designed according to both quantitative and qualitative research approach. In the research, data were collected from 625 students, 6 managers and 5 guidance counselors. Research data were obtained through the semi-structured interview form and the Discussion Scale of the Reasons of Discontinuity developed by Özbaş (2010). While quantitative data were analyzed using descriptive analyses and multiple regression analysis, quantitative data was analyzed by content analysis. In the study, it has been understood that causes of absenteeism are significant predictors of duration of absenteeism, these causes all together explain 22% of the change in duration of absenteeism. It has been revealed that various practices are applied in schools in addition to those specified in the legislation with a view to reduce absenteeism, but these applied strategies are not very effective on participants. It is understood that there exists a need for more comprehensive and professional practices that will eliminate the causes of absenteeism and in this context, participants have made suggestions such as making school center of attraction, modulation of curriculum and reducing academic hours, increasing compatibility of school programs with the central test, scheduling field selection to an earlier period and struggling with absenteeism before it becomes a habit.