Rate of absenteeism

Student absenteeism is a major concern for lecturers at institutions of higher learning. Absences create a dead, tiresome, unpleasant classroom environment that makes students who come to class uncomfortable and the lecturer irritable (Marburger 2001). Absenteeism disturbs the dynamic teaching-learning environment and adversely affects the overall well-being of classes (Segal 2008). In quality terms, absenteeism is a waste of educational resources, time and human potential. Student absenteeism also causes rework and wasted time for lecturers (Lalek 1995; Rumberger 1997). Lecturers who spend class time re-teaching lessons take instructional time away from students who attend class regularly, and the extra time spent going over absentee homework and class assignments takes time away from lecturer planning periods and time needed to provide individual assistance (Weller 1996). When students are absent from class, they miss valuable information resulting from peer-lecturer interaction and the benefits of the specific examples lecturers use to clarify difficult concepts. This valuable part of the learning experience cannot be replicated when lecturers re-teach © Kamla-Raj 2011 J Soc Sci, 26(2): 89-97 (2011) Causes and Structural Effects of Student Absenteeism: A Case Study of Three South African Universities Newman Wadesango and Severino Machingambi Centre for Learning and Teaching Development, Walter Sisulu University, Republic of South Africa KEYWORDS Absenteeism. University. South Africa. Students ABSTRACT The aim of the study was to investigate the extent of student absenteeism in selected universities in South Africa, explore the reasons why student absent themselves from classes and examine the implications of student absenteeism. The study adopted the mixed methodology and used a survey research design as the operational framework for data gathering. Data were collected by self administered questionnaires and interviews with one hundred and twenty-six students from three universities in South Africa. The study revealed that student absenteeism is rampant in the universities under study due to reasons such as: lack of subject interest, poor teaching strategies by lecturers, unfavourable learning environment, too much socialization, part-time jobs to augment meagre bursaries granted by various sponsors and poor relations with the lecturers. The study also found an inverse relationship between student absenteeism and course performance. the material to absentee students (Weller 1996; Williams 2000)