1. Trevor Bennett & Simon M. Yalams
University of Technology, Jamaica

2.  Introduction
 Methodology
 Results
 Discussion
 Conclusion
 Recommendations

3.  Absenteeism to class. WHAT is it?
 “......it is the habit of not being at school or
work, usually without a good reason when one
should be,.....”(Fayombo, 2011)
 The controversy on students’ absenteeism,
participation in class activities and their overall
performances in university courses of study or
modules, continue to be a major concern.
 Of particular challenges to administrators and
lecturers in and outside institutions of higher
learning in the Caribbean is students’ non-
attendance to class (Onyefulu, 2011; Fayombo, 2011).

4.  Some reasons for students’ absenteeism
include:
 Lack of psychological resilience (Fayombo, 2011)
 Too busy doing assignments for other classess
 Likes for some courses and dislikes for others
 Unfit or non-convenient time/days scheduled
for classes (Onyefulu, 2011).

5.  Factors attributed to students’ poor
academic performances in many higher
educational institutions in Jamaica include:
 Difficulty level of a course/module
 Poor time management
 Poor study habbits
 Over crowded academic schedules
 Pedagogical style
 Lack of motivation
 Other academic distractions (Onyefulu, 2011)

6.  Not many studies appears to have been
directed specifically on Engineering
students at UTech.
 Even though ample evidences exist that
cases of absenteeism is very common
among engineering students.
(Just imagine this video clip)

7. Attendance rates in public schools at all
levels across Jamaica remained relatively
low for quite some time now. (The Jamaica
Observer, August 2009)

9. But rasta, if I
mon absent from
work I mon cyaan
perform! If a mon
cyaan perform, I
mon cyaan get
pay.
Jah rastafari!!!

11.  The situation is heading towards a gradual
decline of the educational system.
 If not curtailed it may lead to:
poor quality of graduates
imbalance in the national and regional or
even global industrial development due to
incompetent workforce/professionals
public nuisance and increased crime rate

12.  To examine the relationships between
students’:
 attendance
participation and
performance in Engineering Statics
 (Engineering Statics is a year one module at UTech)

13. 1. What relationship exists between students’
attendance to classes and academic
performance in Engineering Static?
2. What relationships exist between students’
class participation and performance in
Engineering Static?

14.  A correlational research design was employed for this study.
 Data were collected using:
 students’ records of attendance
 coursework
 quizzes
 midterm tests
 laboratory work and
 final examination
 Data were analyzed using the SPSS software:
 descriptive statistics was employed
 Pearsons’ correlation “r” was used to interprete the results

24.  The findings of the study showed that
there was a positive and significant
relationship between:
 students’ attendance and participation in class
 students’ attendance and performance in class
 students’ participation and performance in various
components of the module

25.  The relationship between attendance and
overall performance was shown to have a
co-relational coefficient of 0.656
 The relationship between participation and
performance was 0.587
 The more students attend and/or
participate in classes, the better they will
perform.

26.  Lecturers should incorporate planned scheduled quizzes
at the beginning of the session
 Administrators in each engineering department should
coordinate how the assignments are scheduled
 Mandatory attendance to class should be revived and be
enshrined and enforced into the Engineering Faculty
policy for module delivery to ensure:
 increased students’ attendance to class and
 increased students’ performances

27. C. Onyefulu, “Students’ class attendance and academic
performance in an Education course at the University of
Technology, Kingston, Jamaica.” in Higher Education in
the Caribbean. Research, Challenges and prospects.
Information Age Publishing, INC. Charlotte, NC Austine
Ezenne Edited 2011.
G.A. Fayombo, “Absenteeism from lecturers among
undergraduate students: Implications for Caribbean
Higher Education.” In Higher Education in the Caribbean.
Research, Challenges and prospects. Information Age
Publishing, INC. Charlotte, NC Austine Ezenne Edited
2011.