PREDICTIVE INFLUENCE OF SOCIO-PHYCHOLOGICAL FACTORS ON TRUANCY
BEHAVIOUR AMONG SENIOR SECONDARY SCHOOL STUDENTS
, CHAPTER ONE
1.0 Introduction
Education is a combination of deliberate and purposeful acts and activities with formative and
intervention effect on the behavior and character of an individual. In its technical sense,
education is the process by which a society consciously transmits its accumulated stock of
knowledge; skills and intentional effort usually focus in part on character development, behavior
modification and value’s orientation especially among the youths of the nation. However, in
recent times, there are unintentional, visible and not so visible distortions and aberrations in the
character and behavior of the youths which are reflected in the pattern of student’ classroom
behavior. If unchecked, such behavior may constitute impediments to meaningful classroom
learning, school growth and development. Prominent among such despicable behavior is truancy
among secondary school students. Truancy is not a new problem but historically, present
problem that has over the last decades received new found attention as the lack of school
attendance and its link with student delinquency has become more clearly identified.
Truancy is a product of combinations of social, economic and attitudinal factors which
invariably reflect in students’ academic performances and challenges the competence and
resources of school counselors (Anima Sahun, 2003). It is noted that student who stay away from
school without permission will not only be left out in the learning process but they may also
,probably end up engaging in antisocial behavior such as drug abuse, gangsterism, bullying,
alcohol consumption, free and unregulated sex, gambling and loitering with their negative
consequences and experience. Further, playing truant is a discipline problem with strong
challenge to the resources, facilities and expertise on the school counseling services and its
curricular structure (Nawaz, 2005). A truant can also be described as the person that stays away
from school without good reasons. He or she is irregular at school attendance for he finds other
places more attractive than that school. It stands that truancy is one of the offences which
students in institutions of learning commit. From research work carried out it was discovered that
truancy is of varying degree institutions of learning and it is comparatively greater in the
secondary schools than the high institutions of learning.
In the secondary schools, truants can be labeled as poverty prone and at risk students who
are faced with a number of educational challenges which require the building of counselor’s
professional capacity to prevent its negative consequences to students and learning. Usually some
students’ have high rate of absenteeism, poor academic performance, adjustment problems, lack
of interest in schools and poor attitude to school work and learning. Such students’ need the
assistance of professional counselors so as to cope with the academic and social problems and
challenges associated with schooling. The persistence and grooving phenomenon of truancy
among secondary school students suggest the need to build the professional capacity of school
, counselors so as to mitigate the negative effects of truancy among secondary school students.
The magnitude or prevalence of truancy remains a factor yet to be thoroughly examined among
secondary school students. Related to the prevalence of truancy are factors suspected to
predispose students to truancy. Previous studies (Gesinde, 2005; Okwakpam, 2012; Igwe, 2013)
have investigated the causes of truancy visàvis student academic performance. Such studies left
unanswered the vital questions about the prevalence of truancy and factors which predispose
student to truancy. Answers to these questions are pertinent to understanding truancy and
improving school facilities and guidance and counseling services to eliminate truancy among
school students.
Truancy predisposes students to dropping out of school as students often demonstrate a pattern of
increased absence from school over a period of time. Nwana (2004) explained that truancy is an
act of intentionally absenting of oneself from school without permission, leaving without
authorization and dodging of specific classes. It has been reported that many factors are
suspected to facilitate truancy among students. Among such factor is lack of qualified teachers,
lack of teaching and learning materials, and lack of dedication on the part of teachers, home
factor (marital adjustment and broken homes, lack of affection, disability of parents). It was
established that, to understand the problem of truancy, it is essential to understand the causes;
BEHAVIOUR AMONG SENIOR SECONDARY SCHOOL STUDENTS
, CHAPTER ONE
1.0 Introduction
Education is a combination of deliberate and purposeful acts and activities with formative and
intervention effect on the behavior and character of an individual. In its technical sense,
education is the process by which a society consciously transmits its accumulated stock of
knowledge; skills and intentional effort usually focus in part on character development, behavior
modification and value’s orientation especially among the youths of the nation. However, in
recent times, there are unintentional, visible and not so visible distortions and aberrations in the
character and behavior of the youths which are reflected in the pattern of student’ classroom
behavior. If unchecked, such behavior may constitute impediments to meaningful classroom
learning, school growth and development. Prominent among such despicable behavior is truancy
among secondary school students. Truancy is not a new problem but historically, present
problem that has over the last decades received new found attention as the lack of school
attendance and its link with student delinquency has become more clearly identified.
Truancy is a product of combinations of social, economic and attitudinal factors which
invariably reflect in students’ academic performances and challenges the competence and
resources of school counselors (Anima Sahun, 2003). It is noted that student who stay away from
school without permission will not only be left out in the learning process but they may also
,probably end up engaging in antisocial behavior such as drug abuse, gangsterism, bullying,
alcohol consumption, free and unregulated sex, gambling and loitering with their negative
consequences and experience. Further, playing truant is a discipline problem with strong
challenge to the resources, facilities and expertise on the school counseling services and its
curricular structure (Nawaz, 2005). A truant can also be described as the person that stays away
from school without good reasons. He or she is irregular at school attendance for he finds other
places more attractive than that school. It stands that truancy is one of the offences which
students in institutions of learning commit. From research work carried out it was discovered that
truancy is of varying degree institutions of learning and it is comparatively greater in the
secondary schools than the high institutions of learning.
In the secondary schools, truants can be labeled as poverty prone and at risk students who
are faced with a number of educational challenges which require the building of counselor’s
professional capacity to prevent its negative consequences to students and learning. Usually some
students’ have high rate of absenteeism, poor academic performance, adjustment problems, lack
of interest in schools and poor attitude to school work and learning. Such students’ need the
assistance of professional counselors so as to cope with the academic and social problems and
challenges associated with schooling. The persistence and grooving phenomenon of truancy
among secondary school students suggest the need to build the professional capacity of school
, counselors so as to mitigate the negative effects of truancy among secondary school students.
The magnitude or prevalence of truancy remains a factor yet to be thoroughly examined among
secondary school students. Related to the prevalence of truancy are factors suspected to
predispose students to truancy. Previous studies (Gesinde, 2005; Okwakpam, 2012; Igwe, 2013)
have investigated the causes of truancy visàvis student academic performance. Such studies left
unanswered the vital questions about the prevalence of truancy and factors which predispose
student to truancy. Answers to these questions are pertinent to understanding truancy and
improving school facilities and guidance and counseling services to eliminate truancy among
school students.
Truancy predisposes students to dropping out of school as students often demonstrate a pattern of
increased absence from school over a period of time. Nwana (2004) explained that truancy is an
act of intentionally absenting of oneself from school without permission, leaving without
authorization and dodging of specific classes. It has been reported that many factors are
suspected to facilitate truancy among students. Among such factor is lack of qualified teachers,
lack of teaching and learning materials, and lack of dedication on the part of teachers, home
factor (marital adjustment and broken homes, lack of affection, disability of parents). It was
established that, to understand the problem of truancy, it is essential to understand the causes;
