Abstract:
The reasons for students’ absenteeism may vary across nations depending on country
and cultural differences. Studies on students’ absenteeism that have been investigated
in the West are reflective of such cultural contexts and therefore, the findings cannot be
directly applied to another cultural context. There is a dearth of such studies in Asian
and other similar developing countries. Consequently, the present study aims to
discover factors determining students’ absenteeism in Sri Lanka. Strongly based on
philosophical assumptions, the present study mainly employed a survey research
strategy and data were primarily garnered from a self-administrated questionnaire. A
total of 129 Advanced level students representing Arts and commerce streams were
conveniently selected from five schools, namely KG/MW Baduriya Central College,
KG/MW Zahira National School, KG/MW Mayurapada National School, KG/MW
Nooraniya Muslim Vidhyalaya and KG/MW Mederigama Central College located
Mawanella Zone in Sabaragamuwa province. The study revealed six factors
determining students’ absenteeism, named student-preference, teacher and subject,
physical and mental capabilities, non-collegiate, classroom facility and personal
factors. Needless to say, the current study made several theoretical and practical
implications.
