An Investigation of Influence of Student Absenteeism on Academic Performance of Secondary School Students in Nyandarua, Kenya

Abstract

The influence of student absenteeism on academic performance has always concerned all stakeholders in education. Schools in Nyandarua, Kenya have recorded high levels of absenteeism in their institutions. This has made teachers wonder whether student absenteeism significantly influences student academic performance in their schools. This study targeted a population of 869 Form Three students from 11 schools sampled for the study. The sample was made up of 72 respondents, comprising of 54 students, 9 class teachers and 9 school counsellors. Stratified, simple random and purposive sampling methods were used to arrive at a representative sample of students who displayed chronic absenteeism during the previous school term. To validate the research instrument, piloting was carried out in two schools outside Nyandarua in order to avoid contamination of data. Cronbach’s coefficient alpha at 0.79 was achieved as the reliability level of the instrument. Computer software SPSS- v20 was used for the analysis of data for both descriptive and inferential statistics. Pearson’s product moment was used for data analysis. All hypotheses were tested at 95% significance level. The results indicated that student absenteeism influenced academic performance although the significance level was not good enough to conclusively confirm that. However it was evident that, level of student absenteeism mattered in academic performance. The study recommended that, the government needed to meet the whole cost of education at secondary school, so that students may not have to absent themselves from school for whatever reason, thereby compromising their academic performance.

Keywords: Student Absenteeism, Academic Performance, Secondary School Students