ABSENTEEISM PROBLEMS OF PRIMARY, SECONDARY AND HIGH SCHOOL STUDENTS IN THE CONTEXT OF SCHOOL SOCIAL SERVICE

One of the most important problems of the education system all over the world is absenteeism and dropping out of school due to absenteeism. In this context, the purpose of the research is to reveal the reasons for absenteeism of primary, secondary and high school students in Turkey and to propose solutions. The research was conducted in Sakarya in 6 different schools with 7 school administrators (2 principals and 5 assistant principals). Because absenteeism both as a cause and as a result is caused by different factors, qualitative research design was chosen as the most suitable design for the research. An in-depth interview form consisting of 4 chapters was applied to the participants. The data obtained from the research were subjected to qualitative analysis and divided into four themes. Subsequently, separate codes were created for each theme. Absenteeism emerges due to different reasons at different stages of education. It was found that one of the most important reasons for the increase in absenteeism rates is the economic problems experienced by the student and his / her family. There was also found a significant connection between the education level of the family and absenteeism, and the lower the level of education was, the more likely it was that the student would be absent from school. Students in fragmented families, asylum-seeker students, and students with poor educational achievement are more frequently absent from school. In addition, students with physical or mental disabilities and those with low educational achievement (especially 9th graders) are more frequently absent from their schools. There was no relationship between gender and absenteeism from school. Absenteeism decreases the educational achievement of students. The problem of absenteeism in schools cannot be solved by only considering students. For, the causes of absenteeism are multidimensional and complex. To eliminate or minimize the absenteeism problem in schools, school social workers are needed to carry out student-centered interventions in the direction of ecological theoretical perspectives