HOUSEHOLD AND SOCIAL CULTURAL FACTORS CONTRIBUTING TO STUDENTS TRUANCY AND DROPOUT IN SELECTED SECONDARY

CHAPTER ONE

INTRODUCTION

1.1 Background to the Study

The problem of school dropout has generated increased interest among researchers, policy makers and educators in recent years (Rumberger, 1987). This is particularly important when the problems relate to truancy. Some truancy is reactive and some is proactive, which means that the underlying and motivation dier considerably and so should be the interactions (Mgalo, 2005). It seems evident that school attendance problems provide another indication of the need and opportunity for moving forward in new directions for students support. The complexity of such problems demand comprehensive and integrated approaches policy and proactive initiative must now involve schools, families and communities who are working together to develop what is needed (HakiElimu, 2010).

In Nigeria, majority of secondary school across the country have a dangerous high percentage of students who disappear from schools before the end of the secondary education circle. Graduation rates are even lower for girls than for boys and for urban schools than for rural schools (Mungai, 2006). The problem of truancy among students is even becoming bigger every day. 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 o school, which is one of the several kinds of antisocial behaviours. Truancy has been conceptualized as unjustified intentional absence from school (Petegem, 1994). Fogelman and Hibbett (1995) opined that any absence from school without an acceptable reason is truancy. Causes and levels of the contributing factors of truancy are numerous and diverse. Truancy results from several factors. Truancy is a fourfold problem which stems from the student, student’s family background, the school and the community. Rohrman (1993) and Kinder, Harland, Wilkin & Wakefield (1995) submitted that child (personality), family, school and community are the causes of truancy. In the same vein, Osarenren (1996) see the home, school environment, peer group culture and society as causes of truancy among students.

1.2 Statement of the Problem

Poverty has been known to force most parents to withdraw their children from school UNICEF, (2004). This UNICEF report also indicates that some 121 million children in the world are out of school for various reasons and that 65 million of them are girls. The rate of students drop out in school is Nigeria is high most especially the rural areas, other research shows that cultural and religious belief most times is the cause of students drop out most especially in Northern Nigeria. The level of among secondary students is also and leads to negative consequences like potential criminal activities, social segregation, or academic failure through suspension, dismissal, or dropping out. Truancy obstructs effective learning and causes poor academic achievement of truant children, continuous absenteeism from school lead to serious undesirable consequences both for children exhibiting truancy and for communities which causes deformation in the society.

Similarly, Mac Gillivary & Mann-Erickson, (2006) found that children exhibiting truant behavior contribute to day time criminalities. Baker & Jansen (2000) believe that truant children exhibit lower academic performance while opined that truancy lead to criminal and delinquent activities. Investigating the impacts of absenteeism and truancy on the academic performance of secondary school students, this research therefore aims at investigating the household and social cultural factors contributing to students truancy and drop in selected secondary schools in Oyo state.