Project Perfect Attendance is Significant for Outstanding Pupils Competence (PASOC): An Intervention to Remedy Absenteeism of Selected Grade 1 Learners

Abstract

INTRODUCTION

One of the problems that Grade One teachers and learners face in the teaching-learning process of Tagaytay City Central School (TCCS) was the frequent absentees resulting to poor academic performance and at risk of dropping out. SY 2014-2015 marked forty-two (42) percent drop-outs from Grade One level and recorded the highest number of learners who have stopped from schooling. This had alarmed the school to think and plan for an intervention that would remedy absenteeism which was the leading cause of drop outs.

METHODS

The experimental method of research was used in this action research using developmental design because attendance progress of learners was being monitored. The study was limited to selected fifty-eight (58) Grade One pupils who were identified at riskof dropping out due to frequent absenteeism. A survey was used to identify reasons and causes of being absent from school. Frequency counts and percentage weight values were used in the analysis and interpretation of data.

RESULTS

Based from the survey, Sickness is the root cause of absenteeism among Grade One Pupils. During the implementation of PASOC, the number of absentees had gradually decreased from June to October 2016. In Junefifty-four (54) pupils or ninety-three (93) percent of the respondents committed three to five absences weekly. In October, about forty-six (46) pupils or seventy-nine (79) percent of the respondents were attending their class regularly and twelve (12) pupils or twenty-one (21) percent had recorded only one absent in a week. Seventy-two (72) percent decrease on the number of absentees was noted. This only implies the interventions being materialized gained positive results.

DISCUSSIONS

PASOC helped pupils to become readers simply because they do not miss important lessons especially reading class sessions. Moreover, there is also notable improvement with regard to general average of the pupils and their class rating in all subjects because of their regular attendance in school. This only proves that mostof the respondents can cope up with the lessons well because of regular attendance in class and few of them even excelled in their respective class sections. Hence, the program should be implemented among learners in all grade levels and should be endorsed to other schools to solve the same problem.