Phantoms of the classroom : why students stay away

Abstract

From time to time local newspapers draw the public's attention to the phenomenon of absenteeism in our schools. Statistical research carried out locally has indicated the prevalence of the problem in trade schools. This ethnographic study looks into some of the complex issues which cause absenteeism in a girls' trade school. Following an overview of research carried out on absenteeism and an exposition of methods used during field research and their theoretical basis, the perceptions of those who are close to the absentees or whose decisions influence the way they experience schooling are described. This is followed by an account of the reasons given by fifteen absentees who formed the research sample and other students who attended the school where the study was carried out. There is also a description of life at the trade school where the social processes which evolve provide the context for absenteeism. Finally the issues which emerge from the data chapters are analytically interpreted. The contention of this study is that absenteeism will continue to persist until schools place students' interests as their foremost priority.