Abstract:

Abstract School absenteeism/ absence is one of the important problems in education especially in rural areas of Southeast Anatolia regions in Turkey. School absenteeism/absence of students is thought to be among the factors that affect students' academic achievement negatively. Determining the reasons of school absenteeism/absence will help us to explore the problems and develop possible solutions. In this context, the aim of this study is to determine primary school supervisors' opinions towards student absence/absenteeism. This is a qualitative study in which phenomenological approach was used. This Study group included 38 primary school supervisors, working at Education Supervisor Head Office of National Education Bureau in Diyarbakır city. The Members of this study group were selected by using purposeful sampling method. As the data collection tool, an interview form including six semi-structured questions was used in the study. Content analysis method was used to analyze the data and the opinions of the education supervisors were grouped under six themes by using frequency technique. Results of the study revealed that parents' negative views toward education, insufficient physical conditions of the school/classroom, negative climate conditions and low socio-economic status of the families caused students' school absence/absenteeism. Keywords: Absenteeism, Reasons of absenteeism, School attendance, Student absenteeism, Education supervisor

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