Abstract:

In this digital innovation age, most institutions of higher learning around the globe are still offering their programmes as contact-based, with students and the lecturer physically in the same space at the same time. Indeed, there is a mix of views from past studies in different settings on the issue on class attendance and its effects on individual learner’s academic performance. Sefako Makgatho Health Sciences University (SMU) is in a developing country attracting students coming from disadvantaged backgrounds. Therefore, the intention was to do a similar study to establish if similar findings could be established. This study investigated whether attendance could be a factor for academic performance using undergraduate students and the lecturers in the Mathematical and Computational Sciences at SMU in South Africa. Mixed methods with secondary and primary data from 2019 academic year were used. Secondary data reveals that there is indeed a correlation on poor student academic performance and class attendance. Those students who attend most lectures performed favourably well as opposed to those with high absenteeism. Primary data on the other hand revealed that there are several contributing factors to poor student attendance which results in poor academic performance such as students’ lack of motivation, aggressiveness of lecturers towards students, and use of online resources. The study recommends that a software application be developed to effectively track and monitor students ‘absenteeism and academic performance. The study also recommends that a debate takes place amongst academics on the issue of absenteeism, traditional and modern teaching methods, and assessment methods with intention to influence policy making.

Keywords:

Student attendance, absenteeism, academic performance, formative assessment, traditional and modern teaching methods, effective tracking and monitoring.