Abstract
Purpose. The purpose of this study in Phases 1 and 2 was to conduct an exploratory analysis of what chronically truant students state are the reasons they do not attend school. Methodology. The subjects in this study were 202 randomly selected students from four high schools in Los Angeles County. Subjects responded to the research instrument: (1) A twenty-five-item questionnaire; (2) Archival data from the SASI System from each school; (3) Files and records from the Student Attendance Review Board of each school; and (4) Files and records from each of the four districts' Student Attendance Review Board. Findings. Examination of the qualitative data from the twenty-five-item questionnaire revealed the following reasons, which were ranked first in order of importance by the respondents: chronically truant students did not like school, early truancy, influence of friends and personal and social reasons. Secondary reasons, ranked second in order of importance were teachers, homework, schoolwork, and dislike of other students. Conclusions. The exploratory study supported the conclusions that there are many reasons chronically truant students do not attend school. These reasons included the following: students did not like school, early truancy, influence of friends, dislike for school, schoolwork, and dislike for teachers, and students who preferred being truant rather than attending school. Recommendations. Further research is advised: Labeling theory research to identify students' perceptions of their truant friends at all grade levels, research on the influence of compulsory school attendance laws, investigating how nontraditional school models may impact school attendance. There is a need to explore alternative models and strategies to prevent truancy. Finally, there is a need to exam truancy as a situation that needs attention rather than as a national problem. This mindset allows all stakeholders to examine truancy from a different point of view and apply different strategies to solve truancy behavior.