TRUANCY RATE AMONG SECONDARY SCHOOL STUDENTS IN DELTA STATE: IS BULLYING A CONTRIBUTING FACTOR?

Abstract

This study examined impact of bullying on Delta State secondary school students' truancy rate. The study was guided with three research questions and two null hypotheses. The study adopted Ex-post-facto research design using descriptive and correlation methods. 106719 senior secondary school students from 477 public secondary schools in Delta State during the 2023/2024 academic year formed the population in this research. 672 Senior Secondary school students were selected as the study's sample from the study's overall population. The main instrument used for data collection was a questionnaire. The questionnaire which titled “Impact of bullying on the rate of truancy Questionnaire” (IBRTQ) was designed by the researcher. The validity and reliability of the instrument was established with a coefficient of 0.82 and 0.772 for bullying and truancy rate respectively. Three statistical methods were used for the data analysis. They are mean, PPMCC and linear and multiple regression. The findings showed that indicate that bullying have effects on Delta State secondary school students' truancy rates, showed a statistically significant positive correlation between the rate of truancy among Delta State secondary school students and verbal bullying, showed a substantial positive correlation between the rate of truancy among Delta State secondary school students and physical bullying. Based on the conclusion it was recommended among that in order to prevent absenteeism, parents should continuously monitor and inquire about their children's school activities to find out when they are being bullied, to prevent needless punishment and bullying by instructors and older pupils, the school administration should review its disciplinary policies and procedures.