Faculty of Education project materials, Study Guides, Projects, Research of Education Planning And Management

Download Faculty of Education project materials and more Study Guides, Projects, Research Education Planning And Management in PDF only on Docsity! PREDICTIVE INFLUENCE OF SOCIO-PHYCHOLOGICAL FACTORS ON TRUANCY BEHAVIOUR AMONG SENIOR SECONDARY SCHOOL STUDENTS CHAPTER ONE 1.0 Introduction Education is a combination of deliberate and purposeful acts and activities with formative and intervention effect on the behavior and character of an individual. In its technical sense, education is the process by which a society consciously transmits its accumulated stock of knowledge; skills and intentional effort usually focus in part on character development, behavior modification and value’s orientation especially among the youths of the nation. However, in recent times, there are unintentional, visible and not so visible distortions and aberrations in the character and behavior of the youths which are reflected in the pattern of student’ classroom behavior. If unchecked, such behavior may constitute impediments to meaningful classroom learning, school growth and development. Prominent among such despicable behavior is truancy among secondary school students. Truancy is not a new problem but historically, present problem that has over the last decades received new found attention as the lack of school attendance and its link with student delinquency has become more clearly identified. Truancy is a product of combinations of social, economic and attitudinal factors which invariably reflect in students’ academic performances and challenges the competence and resources of school counselors (Anima Sahun, 2003). It is noted that student who stay away from school without permission will not only be left out in the learning process but they may also these causes were grouped into four categories such as students’ personal and psychological factors and school climate. Williams (2000) observed that truancy has interfered adversely with students’ academic performance as well as their moral standard. Inadequate guidance and counseling services in schools has been identified as one major factors responsible for an increasing rate of truancy among students in secondary schools and because of the many potentials of truancy to derail set educational objective of the students and the school and in view of the short and long term impact of truancy on students’ learning and personal development The school environment is organized to shape a student’s learning behaviour. However, one of the problems associated with schooling is truancy which is a source of concern to the parents and the school authority. Truancy has been identified as a challenge among students in schools globally and in Nigeria in particular (Animashaun, 2002). Eremie (2015) asserted that truancy is a student’s deliberate irregular attendance at school. Similarly, Osarenren (1996) observed that truancy is the failure of an absentee student to obtain permission from parents and school. Seeley (2006) explained that truancy occurs if a student is absent without an excuse from parent/guardian or school. Truancy is an antisocial behavior of students who stay away from school. Truants exhibit class disruptive behaviour such as truancy, absenteeism, tardiness, cutting classes that constitute an impediment to a meaningful teaching and learning process. Disruptive behaviour constitutes serious challenges facing the educational sector. Viega, (2008) defined school disruption as the transgression of school rules, troubling learning conditions, and teaching environment by truants. Hence, truancy has a negative effect on the students as it disrupts the classroom management during the teaching and learning process. The refusal of students to attend school regularly without excuse from parents and school is regarded as truancy. The characteristics of truants include laziness, lack of interest in academic work and being in the company of hoodlums. Stoll (1990) identified three types of truants to include students who are in school but absent from class, students who are neither in the class nor at school but at home and those who are neither in the school nor at home. Truancy emanates from the inter-play of factors traceable to the individual, family, school and the community. Truancy among students includes lateness to school and class, leaving school before closing time, loitering, dodging lessons and absenteeism (Brooks, 2001). However, absenteeism is a high rate of absence from school by students when regular attendance is needed. Students indulge in truancy as a means of escaping from an unpleasant situation that causes fear or avoiding school to gain freedom. The circumstances at home might include poor parent/child relationship due to lack of affection. In addition, parents’ inabilityto inculcate good moral values negatively affects their children’s academic achievement. The negative peer influence also contributes to an increase in truancy rate among students. School engagement is seen as a preventive measure for students’ poor performance in school. The extent to which students, parents and teachers actively engage in educational process predicts how likely the students will graduate (Burrus & Roberts 2012). School engagement also involves students’ active attendance and participation in the school activities. Truants rather prefer to be with their peers unknown to their teachers, parents/guardians at the detriment of their studies. Parental involvement in schooling enhances students’ academic performance, positive attitude towards school, time spent on homework and regular school attendance behaviour. If parents however, abdicate their responsibility towards their children to their teachers, the students may become delinquent. Again, parents’ inability to inculcate good moral values may also negatively affect their children’s academic achievement. Truants see the time they leave home for school as a period of freedom. Cone (2012) observed that truants leave home but do not go to school or escape from school to engage in negative activities that caught their imagination and fancy. Uwakwe (1998) explained that truancy affects the school social environment creating a climate of fear and inhibiting students’ ability to learn. The entrenched truancy culture in the homes, school and society coupled with insensitive response to truancy by those in authority affects students’ attitude to truancy. This is further aggravated by the scarcity of effective techniques to prevent truancy among students by counsellors and teachers. students in Nigeria. The concept of truancy has received a lot of attention by researchers. Various behavioural disorders like stealing, violence, drug abuse, examination malpractice, sexual abuse and truancy have so undermined effective teaching-learning processes that some teachers have become helpless and disorganized in their task of impacting knowledge to the learners Fareo (2013). School attendance is an essential prerequisite for achievement and actually overall development of learners while non-school attendance behaviour has been described as one of the issues that have bedeviled the progress of many students in Ibadan, Oyo State. In fact, non-school attendance (also referred to as truancy) by learners most especially among senior secondary school students in Ibadan, Oyo State, has become a common occurrence which require proper investigation in other to put an end to it. 1.1 Statement of the problem The school has been established as the agent of the society to mould the habits, interest, attitudes and feelings of children and transmit the societal norms, culture, values and traditions from one generation to another. Despite this, some students still do not attend school classes. Many of our youths now run away from schools while in many of the cases, the parents believe they are attending school classes. While they are away from school, they exercise freedom in engaging in a lot of juvenile delinquencies like fighting and drug abuse. This situation in our schools is highly worrisome. Truancy is a problem because the absent students cannot benefit from the various programmes that the school offers. Effects of truancy have been reported to include lower academic achievements, delinquent and criminal activities. It has been established that truancy is cog in the wheel of teaching learning. For sometimes now, the school system has been bedeviled by a number of problems. These problems affect instruction, administration and overall performance of students. It also affects academic performance in both internal and external examination. Among these problems are truancy, bullying, fighting, rape, sagging, cultism and so on that have affected teaching and learning adversely and make the learning environment no longer interesting to both the teacher and the student. There are many issues of students absent from school without excuses from the school authorities or parents at home which has been identified as the most powerful predictor of delinquency and indiscipline among senior secondary school students in Ibadan. Clearly, students who miss school will definitely fall behind their peers in the classroom. Consequently, this can lead to many problems and in fact it can also increase the rate of poor academic performance which may cause student dropping out from school and being involved in criminal activities and antisocial behaviour such as drug abuse, cribbing, cultism, armed robbery, gangsterism, rebelliousness, academic failure and low self-esteem. The common occurrence of this behaviour which has almost become a daily routine among the senior secondary school students may later has a socio- economic implications on the society at large if appropriate measure is not put in place. This anti socio behaviour among our secondary school students ought to be a major concern for the entire stakeholders in the educational sectors. One of the primary aims of every school is to create a conducive environment that would make effective teaching and learning possible. This will makes the goals of preparing students to obtain the required skills, knowledge, morals and talent for their growth and the development of the society as a whole obtainable. It was observed that truancy has become a primary contributor to poor academic performance of learners which may likely have negative effects on the management and administration of the school heads and teachers; as they would have to deal with such challenge of truancy instead of dealing with the day-to-day issues relating to the teaching and learning process. However, this problem of truancy is regardless of gender, race and religion. 1.2 Objectives of the study The main purpose of this study was to investigate the phenomenon of psycho-social factors as predictors of truancy among secondary school students and the specific objectives are to; 1. Determine the joint influence of peer influence and neuroticism on truancy among Secondary Schools students in Ibadan, Oyo State, Nigeria. 5. The study will also reveal that some students are willing to attend school, while others do not, due to certain circumstances which require proper investigation because the students in that situation also require interventions that would help them promote regular attendance. Given the situation where schools registered reasonable numbers of students, but for reasons which were not established, where students abscond schooling, in that situation, proper investigation is needed to find out the causes of it. Finally, in Nigeria, new curricula are being mapped out, more inclusive education is being proposed and more serious move toward educational achievement have been put in place, to achieve the aforementioned goals proper attention need to be given to the issue of truancy among our secondary school students. 1.4 Research Questions 1. To what extent do the peer influence and neuroticism predict jointly truancy among secondary school students in Ibadan, Oyo State, Nigeria? 2. To what extent do the peer influence and neuroticism predict relatively predict truancy among secondary school students in Ibadan, Oyo State, Nigeria? 3. To what extent do the school climate predict truancy among secondary school students in Ibadan, Oyo State, Nigeria? 4. To what extent do the self-concept predict truancy among secondary school students in Ibadan, Oyo State, Nigeria? 5. To what extent do the gender predict truancy behaviour among secondary school students in Ibadan, Oyo State, Nigeria? 6. To what extent do the parental socio economic status predict truancy behaviour among secondary school students in Ibadan, Oyo State, Nigeria? 1.5 Scope of Study The study covered a sample of students (male and female) in the Senior Secondary School II (SSII). The reason for the choice of SSII students was that they were in the semi-terminal class, thus, they were not involved in any external examinations such as WASSCE or SSCE. The students will be able to practice the knowledge acquired during the intervention in their first term of the SSII session, before they are promoted to SSIII. It will be possible to administer screening exercise in order to identify those who are at risk of truancy. Hence, the justification of SSII students for the intervention was appropriate; as they will cope with the demands of regular school attendance that in turn reduce the rate of in truancy. The SSI students were not suitable for the intervention pregramme because they are in the first term of the session in that there was no records of absenteeism both in the daily school attendance and subject missed registers. Again, screening the students to identify those who are at risk of truancy. Therefore using the students will not produce the desired result. Furthermore, the use of SSIII students who are involved in the taking their mock examinations during the first term and their preparation for the WASSCE and the NECO SSCE examinations respectively. Hence, the intervention will interfere with the time needed for revision and general study to cover the syllabus for their final examinations. 1.6 Operational Definition of term Psycho-Social: relating to the interrelation of social factors and individual thought and behaviour. Predictors: a person or thing that predicts that something will happen in the future or will be a consequence of something. Truancy: Truancy is any intentional, unjustified, unauthorized, or illegal absence from compulsory education. It is a deliberate absence by a student's own free will and usually does not refer to legitimate excused absences, such as ones related to medical conditions. Gender: Gender is the range of characteristics pertaining to femininity and masculinity and differentiating between them. Depending on the context, this may include sex-based social structures and gender identity. Neuroticism: in psychology and development, a broad personality trait dimension representing the degree to which a person experiences the world as distressing, threatening, and unsafe. Considerable research has been done on the topic, examining such things as the characteristics of the typical truant, schoolbased predictors of truancy and community based correlate of truancy. Such research has informed our understanding of the link between truancy and delinquency and has helped shape most traditional responses to the problem. However, many limitations and various innovative policies and practices have been proposed and implemented in the effort to reduce truancy and school dropout rates across the country. In addition to the proposal and implementation of some innovative policies and practices, culturally competent programmatic strategies have been developed to respond to the problem of truancy taking place among the rapidly growing racial and ethnic minority student population across the country (Bailey & Oziko, 2008; Conteras & Striktikes, 2008; Hone et al, 2008; The People, 2008; Teleuchi & Hone 2008). It has been widely noted that a substantial proportion of this growing racial and ethnic minority student population in our nation’s school faces complex challenges attributable to disproportionate exposure to adverse childhood experience that requires a sophiscated response in order for this subpopulation of school aged youth to experience educational outcomes and achieve academic success. Educational researchers examining this growing student population have utilized the developing research on primary and secondary education in general and truancy behavior specifically to recommend and implement culturally competent programmatic strategies in the effort to promote greater educational success among racial and ethnic minority. Truancy, or the habitual act of being absent from school without permission is a major issue affecting the overall success of the school. Truancy may be identified however, as a consecutive unexcused absences from school which is the most common and acceptable definition. Baker, Sigmon and Nugent (2001) reported that hundreds of thousands Nigerian students are absent from school without permissible excuses each day and this issue is ranked among the ten problems facing secondary schools across the country therefore truancy extends nationally and contributes significantly towards the undermining of the Nigerian educational system. Reid (2006) explicitly identified attendance as the single most critical variable in measuring students’ achievement levels therefore, it is imperative immediately. To eliminate or at least decrease truant behavior, possible causes for the behavior must be identified. The possible short term and long term effects of unexcused school nonattendance are also of value in ascertaining the immediacy and importance of the issue. The next possible solution towards decreasing, preventing and/or eliminating the behavior altogether should be acknowledged. After considering several solutions, conclusion will be presented in regard to which solution or combination of solutions would be most beneficial to initiate in secondary schools. 2.1 Conceptual Evidence 2.1.1 Truancy Truancy is about learners who have not been attending school regularly as required by the school, parents and even the authorities. Truancy which is considered an antisocial behavior and a delinquent act has caused a lotof setbacks for children, adolescents and youths in their educational pursuits (Stoll 1990: Gesinde, 2004; Adeyemi, 2006; Animasahun, 2007). It has eaten deep into the fabrics of Nigeria educational programmes and has an ill-attitude on secondary students academic achievement, and moral lives which has caused most youths exhibit negative attitude such as armed robbery, prostitution, drug abuse, and drug trafficking, and other social crimes ranging from pick-pocketing to secret cult (Stool,2002). In the same manner, the New Western Comprehensive Dictionary Special Edition (2004), said that truancy is “when a student stays away without good reasons, the knowledge of the authority”. The above definitions agrees that truancy is when a student absents himself from school without due permission either from parents or from related authorities. 2.1.2 Types of truancy There are three types of truancy which are: Habitual truancy, Occasional truancy and Causal truancy.Habitual truancy is defined as a specific number of consecutive unexcused absences over that affects the student’s mood or ability to attend school, such as sexual abuse, neglect, economics, demotivational parents or guardians, or siblings can be considered a motivating factor for home truancy. Home truancy is the third type of truancy, but accounts for the highest in criminal activities. According to research, students who stay home from school are more likely to be the ones who commit criminal acts such as burglary, robbery, theft and assault.Special truancy involves those students with circumstances such as pregnancy, psychological issues, criminal situations, athletic privilege. This kind of truancy are more often “excused” as special and administrators tend to look the other way as these students are either on their way out anyway, or they are serving a greater need such as the case with the school athlete. 2.1.3 Self -Concept Self concept is the image that we have of ourselves.Self concept is the mental and conceptual understanding and persistent regard that sentient beings hold for their own existence ( Wikipedia 2008). This image is formed in a number of ways, but is particularly influenced by our interactions with important people in our lives. Self concept has been conceptualized by different authors. Self concept is our perceptions or image of our abilities and uniqueness. At first one’s self concept is very general and changeable… As we grow older, this self perception becomes much more organized, detailed and specific (Pastorino& Doyle-Portillo, 2013). A self concept is a collection of beliefs about one’s own nature, unique qualities and typical behavior. Your self concept is your mental picture of yourself. It is a collection of self perceptions. For example, a self concept might include such beliefs as “I am easygoing” or “I am pretty” or “I am hard working”. (Weiten, Dunn, & Hammer, 2012).Self-concept according to Lewis 1990 has two aspects; The existential self and the categorical selfThe existential self isthe most sensitive aspect of the self-Scheme or self concept; the sense of being separate and distinct from others and the awareness of the constancy of the self (Bee,1992). Lewis opines that Awareness of the existential self begins as young as two or three months old and arises in part due to the relation the child has with the world. For example, the child smiles and someone smiles back, or the child touches a mobile and sees it move. ‘The Categorical self realized that he or she is also an object in the world. Just as other objects including people have properties that can be experienced big, small, blue smooth and so on. In this view an individual is becoming aware of himself or herself as an entity, object which can be experienced and which has properties. The self too can be put into categories such as age, gender, Size or Skill. Two of the first categories to be applied are age (I am 4) andgender(I am a girl).The individual self consists of attributes and personality traits that differentiates us from other individuals (for example “introverted”). The rational self is defined by our relationships with significant others (for example “sister”). Finally, the collective self reflects our membership in social groups (for example “British”). (Crisp & Turner, 2007). Bracken (1992) suggested that there are six specific domains related to self concept: • Social- the ability to interact with others. • Competence- ability to meet basic needs. • Affect- awareness of emotional states. • Physical- feelings about looks, health, physical condition and overall appearance. • Academic- success or failure in school • Family- how well one functions within the family unit. Human psychologist, Carl Rogers (1959) believed that there were three parts of self concept: Self-image or how you see yourself, it is important to realize that self-image does not necessarily coincide with reality. People might have an inflated self-image and believe that they really are. Conversely, people are also prone to having negative self-images and perceive or exaggerate flaws or weaknesses. For example, a teenage boy might believe that he is clumsy and socially awkward when he is really quite charming and likeable. A teenage girl might believe that she is overweight, when she is really quite thin. Each individual’s self-image is probably a mix of different aspects including your physical characteristics, personality traits and social roles. Family factors that may cause truant behavior include, but are not limited to parents’ education, parental supervision, and household income. In a recent study on eighth and tenth grade student absenteeism, Henry (2007) correlates family factors with truant behavior. Henry’s study illustrates that the lower the father’s education, the more likely the child is to commit truancy. The chance the child would commit truancy was even higher if the mother was a high school dropout. Additionally, Henry’s work proves that the longer a child is unsupervised after school, the more likely that child is to become a truant; 29.9% of truants were unsupervised for five hours or more after school whereas only 11.3% of truants were never unsupervised after school. In a recent study on truant offenders in the juvenile justice system, Zhang, et al. (2007) linked truancy to household income. They established that minors that are first referred to the juvenile justice system tend to be more financially impoverished, with a relatively higher percentage of families making less than 15,000 per year, than their regularly attending peers. That is, students are more likely to exhibit truancy if they live in families that gross less than 15,000 annually. School factors that may cause truant behavior include, but are not limited to school climate, class size, attitudes, ability to meet each student’s diverse needs, and the school’s discipline policy regarding truancy. According to Wilkins (2008), students that attend large schools may feel isolated or alienated in their school setting, so to escape these feelings they choose not to attend. These students do not feel comfortable, wanted, valued, accepted, or secured; they are lacking a connection to a trustworthy somebody within the school. In oversized classrooms, students’ diverse needs, whether they are instructional, social, or a various other, cannot consistently be met and studentteacher relationships cannot be developed. This leads to a school climate and attitude in which each individual must fend for himself. Kolsac (2007) solicits that 23% of truants choose to skip school because they do not feel safe in their school environment. Moreover, if a student does not feel comfortable, secure, or safe, and logically decides to skip school because location x is safer than the school, he is punished. Tobin (2009) suggests that imposing more serious punishments has worsened truant behavior; thus proving punishment to be counterproductive in the fight against chronic absenteeism. Economic influences that may cause truant behavior include, but are not limited to living situation and student employment. Kolsac (2007) discerned in his study that 33.5% of high school truants did not live with their mother or father, 27.6% lived with their father only, 19.8% lived with their mother only, and 14.4% lived with both parents. Therefore, the likelihood that a student would commit truancy increases when the student lives with only one parent, and increases anywhere between 5.9% to 13.7% if the child lives with neither his mother nor father. Moreover, Henry explains that students, who work more than 20 hours per week, greatly increase their chances of committing truancy. Of the truants he examined, 23.9% worked 20 hours or more per week, whereas only 13.4% worked five or less hours per week. Student variables that may cause truant behavior include, but are not limited to physical and mental health problems, substance abuse, drug use, perception of self, and detachment from school. DeSocio, et al. (2007) identifies physical and mental health issues as contributing towards school absenteeism. They suggest that truancy coexists with student and family mental health disorders and may be an indicator for an existing or emerging mental health disorder, including post traumatic stress disorder, anxiety, depression, and/or substance abuse. Supporting evidence from Kolsac’s study (2007) implicates students that use alcohol one or more times a month as 26.5% more likely to skip school than peers who do not use alcohol, and if the student drinks to a level of intoxication his likelihood of skipping school increases to 31.2%. Moreover, 33.9% of the students who have been truant smoke cigarettes and 37.2% smoke marijuana at least once a month. Of equal importance, students that held lower perceptions about themselves were more likely to skip school than students who held higher perceptions of themselves. For example, students that answered “probably won’t” graduate from high school and “definitely won’t” attend college committed higher truant behavior at 44.5% and 30% respectively than their peers who answered “definitely will” graduate from high school and “definitively will” go to college at 15% and 12.1% respectively. Even more defining, DeSocio et al. (2007) indicate, that as many as 30% of youth who are absent on a given school day are representative of school disengagement, or instructional intervention. This is especially useful in reading and math classes where students can receive immediate feedback. Furthermore, teacher praise and reinforcement has empirical support for increasing ontask behavior and decreasing inappropriate behaviors (Zhang, 2007). Through instructional intervention, habitually absent students are encouraged to attend school through praise. However, I do not believe that the instructional intervention approach will be enough in and of itself to eliminate, or at the very least decrease chronic unexcused absenteeism. Nevertheless, the strategy elicits empirical support for increasing on task behavior; therefore, direct instruction could be one component used in the fight against truancy. Positive Behavior Support (PBS) and Functional Behavior Assessment (FBA) are two examples of behavioral based interventions. Positive Behavior Support incorporates several empirically proven practices into a continuum of supports for students with challenging behaviors and these supports can either be universal and school wide or more intensely focused on the individual (Zhang, 2007). Functional Behavior Assessment is an example of a more individual based intervention, and is a process in which information is gathered about the function of the student’s behavior. This can be used to maximize the effectiveness and efficiency of the student’s behavioral support(s) and selfmanagement. This process generally involves selfmonitoring, selfevaluation, and positive reinforcement. Moreover, this process is intended to teach students to take responsibility for their social behavior and academic performance. The PBS and FBA also provide a paper trail needed to prove that steps have been taken in an attempt to improve student behavior, and more specifically in this case, student attendance. Abolish Chronic Truancy Now (ACT Now) and Truancy Reduction Demonstration Program (TRDP) are two popular community based interventions. These programs build on the strengths and resources in local communities to target truancy and offer incentives to students and their families for attending school. These communitybased interventions include mentoring, intensive family interventions, case management or diversion programs, welfare restrictions as an economic sanction, and expanding police authority (Zhang, 2007). Zhang states that attendance improves when students are given awards, communication with families is strong, parents are assigned a contact person at school, and after school programs are made available to students. However, it becomes obvious that if the entire community is not involved (e.g. parents, educators, law enforcement, juvenile and family court judges, social services, etc), the program will not be successful in preventing, decreasing, or eliminating truancy. Check and Connect is a dropout prevention and intervention model that was developed to encourage middle school students that were at risk for dropping out of school to remain engaged in school and on track to graduate (Zhang, 2007). In this model, an assigned individual monitors student levels of engagement on a daily basis using multiple risk factors such as tardiness, skipping classes, absenteeism, behavior referrals, detention, suspensions, grades, and accrued credits. This assigned individual is responsible for ensuring that a student is actually connecting with the school and is indeed participating in the learning environment. This is the Check aspect of the program. In the Connect portion of the program, the assigned individual uses the indicators mentioned above to connect the at risk student to either basic or more intense interventions. The basic interventions include sharing general information about the monitoring system with the student, providing regular feedback to the student about his progress in school, regularly discussing staying in school and its associated benefits, and problem solving strategies that can be used to examine the potential risk factors that the student may be exhibiting. An example of a more intensive based intervention would be that of the FBA, which was discussed earlier. This program would be excellent for chronically absent students because it allows for the fostering of an adultstudent relationship based on human interactions and connections. It allows for the student to make a commitment not only to himself, but also to a fellow human being. 2.1.7 Factors Contributing to Truancy Lack of parental supervision, poverty, misuse of drug and alcohol, lack of family support, household problems, broken homes, and households care duties are the contributory factors that make a child get involved in truant behavior. Likewise, students’ homework or assessment tasks, ailments, social incompetence, abnormal physical and mental health, lack of selfesteem, poor peer relationships, poor academic performance are some of the factors that contribute to disorder involving persistent non attendance at school, excessive anxiety and physical complaints. Theoretical Framework 2.2 Theoretical Framework This study is based on investigating the psychological determinants of truancy among senior secondary school students. The theories underpinning this study are: General Strain theory, Social Learning theory and Positivist theory. 2.2.1 General Strain Theory General strain theory which is a sociological theory was developed from the work of Emile Durkhiem and Merton and taken from the theory of anomie. Durkhiem focused on the decrease of societal restraint and the strain that resulted at the individual level and Merton studied the cultural imbalance that exists between goals and the norms of the individual society. The first of these levels is the micro side of anomie, which manifest in the inability of society to set limits on goals and regulate individual conduct. The micro side of anomie, also known as strain theory, is focused on the reasons behind the increased likelihood of deviance that results from the breakdown of society. According to this micro side of anomie, the decrease in societal regulations creates an increase pressure to commit deviant acts (Agnew & Passas, 1997). Strain theory is focused on the pressure that is placed on the individual to commit crime (Agnew, 1992). According to strain theory, individual deviance is caused as a result of negative treatment from others, and this result in anger and frustration (Agnew, 1997). General strain theory was also used to explain high rates of crime in adolescents (among males as opposed to females). In an attempt to explain high rate of male delinquency as compared to female delinquency, Agnew and Broidy (1997) analyzed the gender differences between the perception of strain and the responses to strain. The first area that was explored was the amount of strain that each gender experiences. According to stress research that Agnew and Broidy compiled, females tend to experience as much or more strain than males. Also, female tend to be higher in subjective strain as well. 2.2.2 Social Learning Theory Another category of the different theories of delinquency is the psychological theories which focus on the individuals conditioning processes. Social learning theory will be discussed under this category.Social learning theory is a general theory of crime and criminality and has been used in research to explain a diverse array of criminal behaviors. The theory as proposed by Akers is centered on the idea that the same learning process in a context of social structure, interaction, and situation produces both conforming and deviant behavior. The differences lie in the direction of the balance of influences on the behavior (Akers & Sellers, 2004). Social learning theory is best summarized by its leading proponent, Akers 1998 commented on how the theory is more closely aligned with cognitive learning theories such as Albert Bandura (1977) among others. The probability that persons will engage in criminal and deviant behavior is increased and the probability of their conforming to the norm is decreased when they differentially associate with others who commit criminal behavior and espouse definitions favorable to it, are relatively more exposed in person on symbolically to salient criminal/deviant models, define it as desirable or justified in a situation discrimination for the behavior, and have received in the past and anticipate in the current or future situation relatively greater reward than punishment for the behavior. The conceptualization of social learning theory embodies within it for fundamental premises that include differential association, definitions, differential reinforcement and imitation (Akers & Sellers, 2004). 2.2.3 Positivist Theory The third category of different theories of delinquency is the biological theories. Biological theories revolve around the idea that individuals are predisposed to commit crime. Lombroso is considered to have contributed the major theory called positivism (Champion, 2004). Lombroso interest, motivation, selfconcept, gender, school environment, spiritual intelligence, emotional intelligence, creativity, goal setting etc. Truancy behaviour like any other barrier to academic success involves skipping school unauthorized. This is most likely strengthened by some factors which could be either internal or external. Staying in school is the first step to a good education and order to achieve academic excellence, the student are mandated by the school laws to attend school daily but due to some factors, most students absent themselves from school activities hence engaging in truancy. The term self-concept is a general term used to refer to how someone thinks about or perceives themselves (McLeod, 2008). The self concept is how we think about and evaluate ourselves. To be aware of oneself is to have a concept of oneself. Baumeister (1999) defined self-concept as the individual’s belief about himself or herself, including the person’s attributes and who and what the self is. Empirical Background 2.3.1 Truancy among Secondary School Students Truancy among secondary school is a situation in which students develop and show adverse attitude and behavior to learning. They absent themselves from classes using unnecessary excuses such as in genuine sickness, fake suspension by the class teacher or school authority and involvement in sport activities. Truancy can equally occur in a boring and boredom classes, harsh teachers who are difficult to approach and in an un-conducive school environment (Osarenren, 1999).Udo (2002) study of 1,262 students drawn from secondary schools in IkotEkpene local government area revealed that the following factors were responsible for truancy among senior secondary school students; unstable homes, teachers/school factors, psychological and personality factors, the demand of modern living. Okwakpam and Okwakpam (2012) in their study determining the causes and levels of truancy among secondary school students in using 105 teachers, reported that there is a significant difference between family background and student factor which implies that the student’s family background contributes greatly to the student’s level of truancy. 2.3.2 Truancy and Self-concept among Secondary School Students Self Concept according to Meyer (1995) is howa person views himself (self image) and how one will like others to view him (described self). To Kelly (2004), self concept is the awareness of one’s attributes, judgments, and values in relation to one’s behaviour, abilities and capabilities. This will help the adolescent to feel capable, likeable, adaptable and strong. In relation to this, Tamunoioman (1990) carried out a research on self-concept attributes, her findings revealed that a positive relationship exist between academic performance and psychological self-concept. In this self-concept influences behavior of students in positive as well as negative ways. In a study carried out by Chan and Fung (2004) on the effects of self-esteem, parental attachment and peer influence on deviant behaviour Hong Kong adolescents, statistically analyses showed that both self-esteem and parental attachment were not related to deviant behavior. However, when self- concept in domain specific was put into consideration, social self-concept was found to be positively correlated to deviant behavior. Acosta (2001) reported that the key factor to academic achievement to self concept and this measure is a better predictor of achievement. Therefore, students that are deficient in school work is not as a result of low intelligence or physical impairment but because they seems to see themselves as unable to undertake work success in school work. Thus the way such students fills about the qualities and attributes they possesses will affect the academic performance and adjustment in school and this can result into negative self concept. Leung (1998) reported that poor academic self concept and poor relationship with school and parents were related to a higher frequency of delinquent behaviour,however, a higher frequency of delinquent behavior was related to a more positive self – concept with regard to social ability and physical ability. Kelly (1978) reported a direct correlation between delinquency and low self - esteem. He found evidence of a link between increased self – esteem and a reduction of delinquent behaviour.He found that as programs that there is a mounting body of evidence to suggest that a student’s performance in an academic setting is influenced in both subtle and obvious ways by the concept of self. Kelley (1978) reported a direct correlation