Training teachers to manage truancy at Savelugu West Circuit of education in Northern Ghana

Abstract

The aim of the research was to investigate why many pupils in the Savelugu West Circuit of Education in Ghana, frequently missed classes and to equip teachers to manage the situation. Action research was employed as the research design of the study. Data collection instruments used include, observation, interviews and questionnaires. In all, ninety (90) pupils and fifteen (15) teachers with a total of one hundred and five (105) participants took part in the study. Purposive sampling was used to select 5 teachers each from the three schools of the study and stratified random sampling to select 30 students each from the three schools. The first stage of sampling of students was to get information from sources, such as school attendance registers from all the classes. The data collected was analyzed using tables and charts to find answers to the research questions related to truancy of pupils in the study area. A two – day workshop for teachers on strategies to make classrooms more conducive and involving to sustain the interest of truants was organized. The study revealed that the schools’ environment, methods of teaching, punishment and parents’ apathy towards their children’s education promoted truant behaviours. The study recommended that teachers should improve their teaching methods, provide counseling, reduce punishment, make environments conducive for learning and parents should provide for their wards’ school needs and monitor their progress in school. In addition, both parents and students should be sensitized on the importance of education. The study contributes in existing literature and knowledge in matters related to truancy in schools.

Keywords: Pupils, truancy, school attendance, teachers, parents, basic schools