Truants’ Perceptions of Family Factors as Causes of School Truancy and Non-attendance

There is a growing recognition that truancy or “skipping school” is not solely due to school related factors, but may stem from among other, dysfunctional home circumstances as well. This paper explores truants’ perceptions of the role of family-based factors in causing school and lesson non-attendance. An in-depth exploration of extant available literature on school truancy revealed that unfavourable family circumstances is becoming a serious cause of challenging behavioural problems adolescents present with. The study used a mixed method approach and is based on the completion of questionnaires and focus group discussions with adolescent learners. The research findings suggest that the respondents, particularly those who featured as classical truants, perceived their home circumstances as highly unfavourable and disruptive of their school attendance. This study highlighted the seriousness and complexity of truancy and demonstrated that dysfunctional home factors may lead to several social problems among learners including school truancy and non-attendance.