The Problem Of Absenteeism In Early Childhood Education And Care

Problem Found

Discuss about the Early Childhood Education and Care for Knowledge and Skills.

Education is not just a simple source of getting knowledge, skills and information, but the most important factor about getting education is being an educated person. The role of kindergarten teachers is very important. This is the age where children’s skills and talent can be encouraged and polished. The role of teachers is to monitor children, understanding their state of mind, and setting educational goals on the basis of their mental and physical level. Attendance is also an important factor for children in Kindergarten. Absenteeism can be a big issue for the academic and mental education of a child. The essay will discuss the problem of absenteeism in the kindergarten school and its effect on their educational, social and emotional development. Different studies have described that higher attendance is related to more success in education and achievement in academics. The essay will discuss the case study of 6 years old child, who is very active and intelligent. His sense of self and morals is very high, which is usually not found in children of his age.

The six years old boy in the class is very active and smart. He is a very talented and gifted boy. He knows the name of the planet can easily draw them with their names and position in solar system. He is a very challenging boy for teachers, as he asks lot of questions and is very curious about everything. His learning skills and capabilities are also very good, as he can learn quickly      and efficiently. He has a very large vocabulary in comparison to other children of his age, and he also makes good grades in all subjects. While answering questions, he is always very alert and uses a lot of common sense. He is also very good at absorbing new information and remembering them. His perspective towards world is very big and ask bigger questions related to world and universe that usually children of his age do not ask such questions. The child is also very sensitive and has great sense of right and wrong. He prefers reading books and magazines written for older children, but the main problem with the child is absenteeism. He is not regular with school and has chronic absenteeism. The logic presented by the child is often above his age. He tries to find logic behind every single thing that could pose difficulty in his future life. Highly logically people often detach from emotions and understanding. According to the study of Rasasingham (2015), absenteeism is a major issue that requires attention, as it increases the chances of school dropout. It is also the predicator of many issues that can last till adulthood. The 6 years child is very bright and smart; he can lose his creativity and curiosity by absenteeism. Early absenteeism is also associated with school based education and health programs. This can result in leading the child towards economical deprivation and many psychiatric, social and marital problems (Kearney and Graczyk, 2014).

Problem of Absenteeism

Absenteeism can be a major issue for children, though it can be seen as the temperory problem, but prolonged absenteeism can be a predicator of lasting issues (Kearney and Graczyk, 2014). Absenteeism can result in to different mental issues. Child can lose his knowledge, grasping power and social interaction. Absenteeism can result in to serious issues in adulthood, as it can be associated with suicide attempts, teenage perilous sexual behavior, unintentional injuries, increase alcoholism and substance abuse (Kearney, 2008).

The problem of absenteeism is very broad and the early definition of absenteeism states that it is related to school phobia, difficulty to adjust in school and anxiety. According to the definition of Absenteeism given by Kearney (2008), it is “a legitimate or illegitimate absence from school or class. Legitimate reasons for missing school include illnesses, religious holidays, the need to attend a family funeral, hazardous weather conditions, and exemptions for college attendance or specific kinds of work” (p. 452). Absenteeism is also caused due to School refusal behaiour. Such behavior is child motivated, where he refuses to attend school. Such behavior is different from unlawful absenteeism, which is done without knowledge of parents (Haarman, 2011). But, here the main concern is the ‘absenteeism’ as school refusal behavior. Here the parents of the child are aware of this behavior of their son.

The major problem with the children with absenteeism is psychological and physical conditions. If the child is displaying chronic absenteeism, than he is more likely to suffer with anxiety, disruptive behavior, and loss of interest in education (Balfanz & Byrnes, 2012). Such children require attention of the patents and teachers. Special strategies are required to be applied with combined efforts of parents and teachers. Chronic absenteeism (child missing 10% of the total school days) is considered as the issue for the children of high school and college, but it is a major issue in Kindergarten (Balfanz & Byrnes, 2012). Some of the strategies and methods that can be used to reduce absenteeism are:

1. Teacher and school organization should focus on providing safe and supportive environment to the children. As, according to the case discussed, 6 years old boy is very intelligent and above the intelligence levels of his peers (Shochet et al., 2006). Such child require more focused environment. He may not be able to interact with other children due to having high sense of right and wrong. Thus, teachers require creating special environment for him, so that he can interact easily with teacher (Shochet et al., 2006). The positive environment and constructive student-teacher relationship can be considered as the protective factor for absenteeism. According to Havik, Bru & Ertesvåg (2014), disruptive and noisy classrooms are often disturbing for over intelligent children. They feel distracted and uninterested. Teacher in such situation focus more on disruption and forget to focus on children. Child should be involved in physical activities, art classes and other activities same like other students, as it will help him to develop social interaction, less logical and more emotional behavior.
2. The next strategy that can be used to improve the condition of absenteeism can be the involvement and connectedness of family. Involvement of family is considered as the major protective factor for absenteeism and school truancy (Duardo, 2013). For applying this strategy, it is important to identify the socio-economic status of the family, attitude of family towards education of child, their awareness towards absenteeism, parental situation, single parent family, child abuse and parenting skills of parents (Ready, 2010). The early absenteeism can result in deteriorated academic efficiency of the child, and in the higher grades his condition could worsen (Chang and Romero, 2008). Family can be involved for pick and drop and should be educated about importance of presence in school. Child may feel more motivated with support of parents and family.
3. Some of the factors that can increase absenteeism are alcoholic and abusive parents. Such children become very sensitive and get easily upset, which may discourage them to come to school. According to the provided case scenario, the 6 years old boy is very sensitive and get easily upset (Gottfried, 2014). He may require more protective and supportive environment at school. He is very active and smart, thus teacher should focus on answering his all questions and providing him learning stuff related to his interest.
4. The next strategy for the child would be introducing lessons same as others, but with different assessment level. Lessons taught will be same but different assessment will help to motivate and encourage his knowledge (Bruner, Discher, & Chang, 2011). His lessons will be different from others, as his intelligence level is higher than other students, so he requires more comprehensive lessons plans and activities. Assessment and activities given to him can be different from others, where he can display his broad knowledge and intelligence (Gottfried, 2014). Such change in strategies will promote and encourage his knowledge level and absenteeism can be reduced.

Conclusion

Early school absenteeism can be a major issue for the children and their future life. Absenteeism must be monitored and evaluated at the early level, because the chronic absenteeism can be very risky for the academic grades of the child. According to the case presented about a 6 years old child, he is very smart and intelligent. He is also very energetic, but may be very sensitive with few things. He easily gets upset that can increase absenteeism to chronic level in his condition. The essay discussed various strategies that can be used to improve his attendance in class. The major barrier to attendance can be child’s own behavior, family situation, uninteresting class lessons and activities. Child is very intelligent and has broad scope of knowledge in comparison to peers. Thus, he requires special attention from teachers. Holistic approach is very important for children in kindergarten. Risk factors should be identified, which are associated with school absenteeism. Such children require enhanced and comprehensive lessons and leaning environment to promote knowledge and support.

References

Balfanz, R., & Byrnes, V. (2012). The Importance of Being There: A Report on Absenteeism in the Nation’s Public Schools. Baltimore, MD: Johns Hopkins Univesrity School of Education, Everyone Graduates Center, Get Schooled, 1-46.

Bruner, C., Discher, A., & Chang, H. (2011). Chronic elementary absenteeism: A problem hidden in plain sight. Attendance Works and Child & Family Policy Center.

Chang, H. N., & Romero, M. (2008). Present, Engaged, and Accounted for: The Critical Importance of Addressing Chronic Absence in the Early Grades. Report. National Center for Children in Poverty.

Duardo, D. L. (2013). Solutions to Chronic Absenteeism: An Evaluation of a Kindergarten Attendance Improvement Program in LAUSD.

Gottfried, M. A. (2014). Chronic absenteeism and its effects on students’ academic and socioemotional outcomes. Journal of Education for Students Placed at Risk (JESPAR), 19(2), 53-75.

Havik, T., Bru, E., & Ertesvåg, S. K. (2014). Parental perspectives of the role of school factors in school refusal. Emotional and behavioural difficulties, 19(2), 131-153.

Haarman, G. B. (2011). of Course: School Refusal Behavior: Children Who Can’t or Won’t Go to School. Addictive Behaviors, 31, 149-154.

Kearney, C.A. (2008) School Absenteeism and School Refusal Behaviour in Youth: A Contemporary Review. Clinical Psychology Review, 28, 451-47

Kearney, C. A., & Graczyk, P. (2014, February). A response to intervention model to promote school attendance and decrease school absenteeism. InChild & Youth Care Forum (Vol. 43, No. 1, pp. 1-25). Springer US.

Rasasingham, R. (2015). The Risk and Protective Factors of School Absenteeism. Open Journal of Psychiatry, 5(02), 195.

Ready, D.D. (2010). Socioeconomic Disadvantage, School Attendance, and Early Cognitive Development: The Differential Effects of School Exposure. Sociology of Education. 83, 271-286

Shochet, I. M., Dadds, M. R., Ham, D., & Montague, R. (2006). School connectedness is an underemphasized parameter in adolescent mental health: Results of a community prediction study. Journal of Clinical Child and Adolescent Psychology, 35(2), 170-179.