Trevor Bennett & Simon M. YalamsUniversity of Technology, Jamaica

Introduction

Methodology

Results

Discussion

Conclusion

Recommendations

Absenteeism to class. WHAT is it?

“......it is the habit of not being at school or work, usually without a good reason when one should be,.....”(Fayombo, 2011)

The controversy on students’ absenteeism, participation in class activities and their overall performances in university courses of study or modules, continue to be a major concern.

Of particular challenges to administrators and lecturers in and outside institutions of higher learning in the Caribbean is students’ non-attendance to class (Onyefulu, 2011; Fayombo, 2011).

Some reasons for students’ absenteeism include:Lack of psychological resilience

(Fayombo, 2011)Too busy doing assignments for other

classessLikes for some courses and dislikes for

othersUnfit or non-convenient time/days

scheduled for classes (Onyefulu, 2011).

Factors attributed to students’ poor academic performances in many higher educational institutions in Jamaica include:

Difficulty level of a course/modulePoor time managementPoor study habbitsOver crowded academic schedulesPedagogical styleLack of motivationOther academic distractions (Onyefulu,

2011)

Not many studies appears to have been directed specifically on Engineering students at UTech.

Even though ample evidences exist that cases of absenteeism is very common among engineering students.

(Just imagine this video clip)

Attendance rates in public schools at all levels across Jamaica remained relatively low for quite some time now. (The Jamaica Observer, August 2009)

But rasta, if I

mon absent

from work I mon

cyaan perform!

If a mon cyaan

perform, I mon

cyaan get pay.

Jah rastafari!!!

The situation is heading towards a gradual decline of the educational system.

If not curtailed it may lead to:

poor quality of graduates

imbalance in the national and regional or even global industrial development due to incompetent workforce/professionals

public nuisance and increased crime rate

To examine the relationships between students’:

attendance participation and

performance in Engineering Statics

(Engineering Statics is a year one module at UTech)

1. What relationship exists between students’ attendance to classes and academic performance in Engineering Static?

2. What relationships exist between students’ class participation and performance in Engineering Static?

A correlational research design was employed for this study.

Data were collected using:

students’ records of attendance coursework quizzes midterm tests laboratory work and final examination

Data were analyzed using the SPSS software:

descriptive statistics was employed

Pearsons’ correlation “r” was used to interprete the results

The findings of the study showed that there was a positive and significant relationship between:

students’ attendance and participation in class

students’ attendance and performance in class

students’ participation and performance in various components of the module

The relationship between attendance and overall performance was shown to have a co-relational coefficient of 0.656

The relationship between participation and performance was 0.587

The more students attend and/or participate in classes, the better they will perform.

Lecturers should incorporate planned scheduled quizzes at the beginning of the session

Administrators in each engineering department

should coordinate how the assignments are scheduled

Mandatory attendance to class should be revived and be enshrined and enforced into the Engineering Faculty policy for module delivery to ensure:

increased students’ attendance to class and

increased students’ performances

C. Onyefulu, “Students’ class attendance and academic performance in an Education course at the University of Technology, Kingston, Jamaica.” in Higher Education in the Caribbean. Research, Challenges and prospects. Information Age Publishing, INC. Charlotte, NC Austine Ezenne Edited 2011.

G.A. Fayombo, “Absenteeism from lecturers among undergraduate students: Implications for Caribbean Higher Education.” In Higher Education in the Caribbean. Research, Challenges and prospects. Information Age Publishing, INC. Charlotte, NC Austine Ezenne Edited 2011.