Factors Influencing Truancy in Public Community Built and Managed Secondary Schools in Tanzania: A Case of Arusha City

Kapinga, Paulina (2014) Factors Influencing Truancy in Public Community Built and Managed Secondary Schools in Tanzania: A Case of Arusha City. Masters thesis, The Open University of Tanzania.

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Abstract

The main purpose of this study is to identify what factors influencing truancy in community secondary schools in Arusha City. The case study design provides an in-depth, detailed and holistic understanding of meanings of phenomenon. Teachers, students, and secondary school inspectors were selected randomly. Schools, schools’ heads, truants’ parents and officials were selected purposively. The sample had 117 respondents. Questionnaires and interviews were used to collect data. Questionnaires findings were analyzed using calculators and presented in through tables where absolute and relative frequencies are shown or are presented in categories and graphs. Interviews findings were content analyzed and presented as themes quotations. Students’ factors, home and school factors have leading influence in truancy. Students’ factors include low academic performance, using and selling bhang. Home factors include long home-school distances, family poverty, low parents cooperation in controlling truancy, parents’ limited education. School factors are lack cooperation between parents, teachers and students, lack of school fence, school management, which does not enforce rules, teaching methods that are not appealing to students in classrooms, punishment at school, school rules which are not enforced, large number of students in classrooms, and teachers’ shortage. Social cultural economic factors include male circumcision, early marriage. Economic factors include low paying jobs, child labour, farming activities and temporary jobs. The study recommends schools to have professionally qualified and enough teachers, schools equipped with libraries and laboratories, enhanced cooperation between parents, teachers and students and parents and construction of hostels and enhanced cooperation with community. The study recommends further research in rural areas.

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