AN EVALUATION OF THE PREVALENCE OF TRUANCY  AMONG ADOLESCENT IN PUBLIC SECONDARY SCHOOLS

CHAPTER ONE

INTRODUCTION

1.1 Background To The Study

The school environment is intended to have an impact on a student's learning behavior. However, one of the challenges with education is truancy, which is a source of concern for both parents and school officials. Truancy has been identified as a concern among students in schools worldwide, notably in Nigeria (Animashaun, 2002). Truancy, as defined by Eremie (2015), is a student's deliberate irregular attendance at school. Similarly, according to Osarenren (1996), truancy is defined as a student's inability to get permission from his or her parents and school. Truancy occurs when a pupil is absent without an excuse from a parent, guardian, or school, according to Seeley (2006).

Furthermore, truancy refers to the antisocial conduct of students who fail to attend school. Truants engage in disruptive behavior in class, such as truancy, absenteeism, tardiness, and class cutting, which impedes an effective teaching and learning process. Disruptive behavior is a major issue in the educational sector. Truants create school disruption by breaking school rules, generating challenging learning conditions, and disturbing the teaching environment, according to Veiga (2008). As a result, truancy has a negative influence on students since it disrupts classroom management throughout the teaching and learning process. In addition, truancy among students includes being late to school and class, leaving school before the conclusion of the day, loitering, evading teaching, and absenteeism (Brooks, 2001). Absenteeism, on the other hand, is a high rate of absence from school by students when regular attendance is necessary. Students use truancy to escape from an undesirable environment that causes anxiety, or to leave school in order to gain independence. According to Cone (2012), truants leave home but do not attend school or flee from school to participate in bad activities that attract their attention. Truancy, according to Uwakwe (1998), has an influence on the social environment of the school, generating an atmosphere of dread and hindering students' capacity to study.

In light of the foregoing, several anti-truancy campaign techniques have been used by government and non-governmental students in an effort to combat student truancy. One such regulation that encourages regular school attendance is the rogram. Unfortunately, appropriate data on truancy among students are not kept in schools, and government anti-truancy initiatives and programs in Nigeria are equally ineffectual.

A teacher's evaluation of pupils' truancy is essentially necessary for early identification of those who are at danger. The evaluation might be carried out by gathering baseline data from the pupils' overall performance in school activities. Unfortunately, truancy evaluation among at-risk students has not gotten the attention it deserves. Managing disruptive behavior and personal difficulties among students, including absenteeism, has become crucial. As a result, the purpose of this study is to evaluate the prevalence of truancy among adolescents in public secondary schools.

1.2 Statement Of The Problem

According to Henry (2007), the effects of truancy are wide, with negative ramifications for numerous levels of society. Truancy can predict maladjustment, low academic performance, school dropout, substance misuse, delinquency, and adolescent pregnancy in the near run. According to Mike (2014), truancy frequently has direct implications for students in the form of lower academic success since students have less opportunities to study while they are away from class. When truancy leads to school failure or school, students are more likely to have unwanted pregnancies, engage in more criminal conduct, have more volatility in their professional pathways, have higher rates of unemployment, and have lower lifetime earnings (Nilly, 2013).

Furthermore, absenteeism has both immediate and longterm public safety effects for communities. Truant teenagers have been caught engaging in illegal activities such as burglary, vehicle theft, and vandalism. Communities with high rates of truancy are likely to have high rates of daytime criminal behavior as well (Aderayor, 2011). In the long run, formerly truant students' lower educational and vocational performance is expected to enhance their likelihood of adult crime and imprisonment. This study examines the prevalence of truancy among teenagers in public secondary schools within this context.

1.3 Objectives Of The Study

The major aim of this study is the prevalence of truancy among adolescents in public secondary schools. Inline with this, the study will be guided by the following specific objectives;

1. Ascertain the extent to which adolescents engage in truant behavior among public secondary schools

2. Determine whether lack of interest in school activities contribute to the rate of truancy among adolescents in public secondary schools.

3. Determine whether shortage of teachers, and poor teaching methods contribute to the rate of truancy among adolescents in public secondary schools.

4. Identify the possible solutions to the prevailing rate of truancy in public secondary schools.

1.4 Research Questions

This study will be guided by the following questions;

1.        What is the extent to which adolescents engage in truant behavior in public secondary schools?

2.        Does lack of interest in school activities contribute to the rate of truancy among adolescents in public secondary schools?

3.        Does shortage of teachers, and poor teaching methods contribute to the rate of truancy among adolescents in public secondary schools?

4.        What are the possible solutions to the prevailing rate of truancy in public secondary schools?

1.5     Significance Of The Study

This study is important to students, teachers, parents, guardians and school management. The findings from this study educate students on the consequences of truancy and how it influences their academic achievements. This study educates students that truancy is a major act that contributes to juvenile delinquencies, poor academic performances and adult crimes.

To parents and guardians, this study addresses the roles of parents in reducing the level truancy among adolescents in secondary school. Parents are expected to take care of their wards and monitor their academic progress in school.

To teachers and school management, this study elucidates the measure to be taken by teacher to ensure that the rate of truancy among secondary school students is brought to the minimal level.

The finding from this research can also be used as a reference material for other researchers who will likely carry out a study on a related topic.

1.6 Scope Of The Study

This study is structured to generally evaluate the prevalence of truancy among adolescents in public secondary schools. However, the study will further ascertain the extent to which adolescents engage in truant behavior among public secondary schools, determine whether lack of interest in school activities contribute to the rate of truancy among adolescents in public secondary schools, determine whether shortage of teachers, and poor teaching methods contribute to the rate of truancy among adolescents in public secondary schools, and identify the possible solutions to the prevailing rate of truancy in public secondary schools.

The study will therefore be carried out in some selected public secondary schools in Warri, Delta State.

1.7. Limitations Of The Study

In the course of carrying out this study, the researcher experienced some constraints, which included time constraints, financial constraints, language barriers, and the attitude of the respondents.

In addition, there was the element of researcher bias. Here, the researcher possessed some biases that may have been reflected in the way the data was collected, the type of people interviewed or sampled, and how the data gathered was interpreted thereafter. The potential for all this to influence the findings and conclusions could not be downplayed. 

More so, the findings of this study are limited to the sample population in the study area, hence they may not be suitable for use in comparison to other schools, local governments, states, and other countries in the world.

1.8 Definition of Terms

The following terms as used in this study are operationally defined.

Truancy: Truancy refers to the students’ absence from school without permission from school and the parents. In this study, the participants were identified using the truancy questionnaire to obtain the baseline data.

Disruptive behaviour: In this study, school disruption is considered as the transgression of school rules. It represents every wrong doing in the school that can be categorized under school indiscipline.

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