TOPIC; THE EFFECT OF TRUANCY ON STUDENTS ACADEMIC UNDERPERFORMANCE IN PHYSICS

A CASE STUDY OF SOME SELECTED SECONDARY SCHOOLS IN IBANDA MUNNICIPALITY

NAME; KWESIGA PIUS

REGISTRATION NUMBER; 2022/HD04/1613U

STUDENT NUMBER; 2200701613

 1.0 INTRODUCTION
• This research will be carried out in order to identify the consequences of truancy on
the academic performance of students in selected schools in Ibanda Municipality.

• Ibanda is a town in the Western Region of Uganda.

• It started way back in 1990s and was elevated from a trading centre to a town board,
town council and in 2016 it was granted a Municipality status.

• Ibanda is located approximately 70 kilometres (43 mi), by road, northwest of Mbarara

city in the Ankole sub-region.

• This is about 290 kilometres (180 mi), by road, southwest of Kampala, the capital city
in Uganda.
cont
• The central area of the study is performance of learners in science
subjects particularly physics in their education.

• Education is there to help people become useful members of the

society, should also help them to develop an appreciation of their
cultural heritage and live more satisfying lives.

• But affected by truancy as one of the serious problem in East Africa in

cities and towns.
cont
• And according to the Basic Education Statistics report of 2009/10 released by the
Ministry of Education and Vocational Training recently.

• The report indicates that the main reasons that prompt students to drop out of
school is truancy.

• The situation in Uganda, Kenya and other east African countries are similar to
those in Tanzania the causes and trends are not much different.
1.1.0 BACKGROUND OF THE STUDY

• What follows, it’s the background of the study that comprises of

the historical, theoretical, conceptual and contextual perspectives.
After this, the research problem, research aim and specific
objectives and questions are presented. The last part of this chapter
focuses on the significance and scope of the study.
 1.1.1 HISTORICAL PERSPECTIVE

• Truancy may have both short and long-term effects on society. There is evidence
that truancy is linked to delinquent behaviour and juvenile crime. It is reported
that 80% of the prisoners in the United States of America were once truants and
that the percentage of juvenile offenders who started as truants is increasing.

• There are various studies conducted on the issue of poor performance in science
subjects and the trend of performance in science subjects, some of the studies
include; the study looking at the contributory factors to poor learner performance
in physical sciences in KwaZulu-Natal Province is linked partially to truancy
cont
• According to Osaki (2007) despite significant achievements in improving
access to quality education over the past two decades in Tanzania, there is a
continuation of poor performance in mathematics and science subjects at the
primary and secondary school level which raises concerns

• According to Kiyaga (2013), science subjects remain a burden on Uganda’s

education even as more efforts are put into the promotion of the academic
field. Results for the 2012 Uganda Certificate of Education (UCE) exposed
the continued poor performance of science subjects compared to art subjects.
 1.1.2 THEORETICAL PERSPECTIVE

• The study is based on the theory of Constructivism which was

propounded by Jean Piaget. The theory of Constructivism states that
“people construct their understanding and knowledge of different
things, through experiencing things and reflecting on those experiences.

• Constructivism learning theory by Jean Piaget generally explains that;

when a person or learner encounters something new, first they have to
reconcile it with their previous ideas and experiences, maybe to change
what they believed, or maybe discard the new information as irrelevant.
cont
Janssen (2000) elaborates on principles that guide constructivism learning theory
such principles are;

Learning is an active process whereby the learner uses sensory input and
constructs meaning out of it, the crucial action of constructing meaning is mental
(cognitive) hence it happens in the mind, and People learn to learn as they learn.

Learning as a social activity so learning is intimately associated with learners’

interactions with other human beings and the environment around them.

it takes time to learn because learning is not instantaneous, one needs the
knowledge to learn, and Motivation is a key component in learning
cont
• The theory is relevant to this study because the theory is particularly
applicable to the teaching and learning of various things including science
subjects. Performance is an outcome of learning hence ways of learning
determine outcome or performance. Academic performance in science
subjects is an outcome of how the subjects were learned. The process of
teaching and learning science subjects involves asking questions,
experimenting, observing, exploring, and assessing and all those activities
are elaborated as the main principles of Constructivism learning theory.
1.1.3 CONCEPTUAL PERSPECTIVE
• According Kyle Z (2005) suggests that Truancies are unexcused absences for at least
one class period during the school day

• According to Cambridge dictionary defines truancy as a problem or situation of

children being absent from school regularly without permission.

• According to oxford dictionary defines academic performance as outcomes that indicate

the extent to which a person has accomplished specific goals that were the focus of
activities in instructional environments, specifically in school, college, and university.

• According to oxford dictionary defines academic underperformance as the fact of doing

less well than you could do, especially in school work.
1.1.4. CONTEXTUAL PERSPECTIVE

• The study investigates the consequences of truancy on students’ academic

performance in physics among secondary schools in Ibanda municipality.
Ibanda is a town in the Western Region of Uganda. It is the main political,
administrative, and commercial centre of Ibanda District and the site of the district
headquarters. Despite efforts to revamp poor performance in science and
particularly physics in Ibanda, habitual truancy tendencies continue to persist.
This substantiates that the performance of learners in science subjects particularly
physics will remain low unless remedies to truancy tendencies are found.
cont
• According to Benjamin k (2015) states that Truancy may have adverse effect on
students, the school and the society at large which include poor academic
performance wastage learning time dropping out of school and poverty to
individuals and families in future.

• And According Kasiita M and Aisha M (2022) curbing absenteeism and truancy
enhances the academic performance of learners in primary and secondary schools
STATEMENT OF THE PROBLEM

• Students who are not truant and able to attend school regularly and are able to
learn more, have fewer discipline problems, develop better study habits and often
are more successful than students who are truant.

• Truancy poses a serious threat to learning in most schools, the school on the other
hand does not seem to be able to cope with the problems, because no meaningful
attempt has been made to reach its root. Truancy is a problem that is seriously
affecting the overall success of the large urban school as elaborated by Susan M
(2010)
cont
• One thing that is clear in this issue is that there is a growing tendency for school
children to be involved in social vices, such as malingering, stealing, smoking, and
involving in strikes among others.

• The study is intended to find out the causes of truancy and its effect on students’
academic performance in sciences in general but particularly in physics to be able to
suggest solutions to the problem of truancy and its resultant consequences.

• Truancy if not properly handled Students may feel less integrated into class and
struggle to participate in classroom activities and interactions with peers and
teachers, which is harmful to their learning process hence leading to poor academic
PURPOSE OF THE STUDY
• The purpose of the study is to examine;

• The consequences of truancy on students’ academic performance in physics

among secondary schools in Ibanda municipality.

OBJECTIVES OF THE STUDY

• To identify the effects of truancy on the academic performance of students in

Ibanda municipality secondary schools.

• To find out the causes of truancy in Ibanda municipality secondary schools.

• To identify the solutions to truancy in Ibanda municipality secondary schools.

RESEARCH QUESTIONS

• What are the effects of truancy on the academic performance of students in Ibanda
municipality secondary schools?

• What are the causes of truancy happening in Ibanda municipality secondary

schools?

• What are the possible solutions to truancy existing in Ibanda municipality

secondary schools?
SIGNIFICANCE OF STUDY.
• The study will be of great benefit to parents of students in secondary schools in
Ibanda municipality to appreciate the implication and consequences of children’s
truancy in secondary school.

• Also, it is hoped that this study will also help the secondary school administration
and other stakeholders in schools in Ibanda municipality to reap the benefits of the
study, get good results, and improve the image of their schools.

• Finally, the study is expected to help the policymakers and government authorities
to recognize truancy as a culprit in the underperformance among secondary school
students in Ibanda Municipality and beyond.
 SCOPE OF THE STUDY

• The study will be carried out in Ibanda Municipality located in western Uganda.

• It will be conducted in both public and private schools.

• The investigation is limited to the phenomenon of the study of truancy academic

performance of UNEB-examined students in physics in some selected secondary
schools in Ibanda Municipality and beyond in the last 5 years.
2.0 LITERATURE REVIEW

• THE CONCEPT OF TRUANCY

Truancy can be defined as any unexcused or undocumented absence

from school taking into account the attendance rules of the specific
country (Claes et al., Citation2009) and can take different forms, ranging
from repeated late arrivals to absence from a whole or several school
day(s).
2.2 CONSEQUENCES OF TRUANCY

• Truancy is negatively associated with school performance. In a comprehensive

American study, the most obvious effect for students with a high level of
truancy was poorer grades (Vaughn, Maynard, Salas-Wright, Perron, &
Abdon, Citation (2013))

• Besides lower academic performance and poorer grades, there is a strong

positive association between truancy and the risk of early school leaving and
dropout (Attwood & Croll, Citation2015; Cabus & De Witte, Citation2015;
Rocque, Jennings, Piquero, Ozkan, & Farrington, Citation2017; Swedish
National Agency for Education, Citation2012).
2.3 CAUSES OF TRUANCY

Several factors are responsible for truancy, and in many instances,

multiple factors can be identified in individual cases.

• The environment at home and school.

• parental involvement or absence,

• youth-related issues are common causes.

Understanding the cause of absenteeism is important in the

implementation of prevention strategies.
2.4 EFFECTS OF TRUANCY

Studies have shown that absenteeism can have adverse effects on students and the
community.

• This is evident from statistics that have shown that approximately 9 in 10 prisoners are
high school dropouts (Kerase-McCastler, 2019).

• The short-term effects on students include involvement in criminal gangs, poor academic
performance, and quitting education (Kerase-McCastler, 2019).

• Long-term effects include increased risk of incarceration and addiction, poor mental
health, and poverty.

• Other adverse effects include unstable relationships, social isolation, failure to graduate,
2.6 SOLUTION TO TRUANT BEHAVIOR

There are a considerable number of strategies and interventions that have

been employed to combat truancy.

• Zhang (2007) recommends instructional, behavioral, and community-

based interventions, and has advocated for a program titled Check and
Connect.

• Reid (2006) investigated a five-tiered intervention approach titled

School Based Scheme (SBS) piloted in the United Kingdom.