Manifestation, Causes And Hideout Of Truancy In Community Secondary Schools Sumbawanga Municipality, Tanzania

ABSTRACT

This study is about the manifestation of truancy in community secondary schools using selected secondary schools from Sumbawanga municipality. The study was predominantly qualitative in nature with some aspects of quantitative research approach. The study was guided by the Ecological System by Urie Bronfenbrenror 1979.The Theory that looks at human development as a complex system of relationships that influence an individual’s development process. The study involved the actual sample of 100 respondents which comprised one Municipal secondary educational officer, three heads of schools, three academic masters, three discipline masters and thirty students from each selected school. Secondary educational officers, heads of schools, academic masters together with the discipline masters were selected by using purposive sampling technique. Students were selected by using stratified sampling. Data were collected through the use of the interviews, questionnaires and documentary review. The collected data were analyzed with the help descriptive statistics. The findings show that there are various ways through which truancy manifests itself in secondary schools. These are long term, semi long term, and short term ways. Moreover, there are different reasons that cause truancy behavior to secondary school students. The study revealed that truants spend their time in streets, at their friends’ homes go to do other business at home or in towns and others go to the agreed places. On the basis of the findings, the study recommends that there should be a joint effort of the policymakers, curriculum planners, educational administrators, counselors, parents, students themselves, and the community in general so as to reduce end truancy problem among students.