The school absenteeism contributing factors: Oman as a case study

Abstract

Student absenteeism is an acknowledged and pervasive problem in many schools in the sultanate of Oman. It is a major problem in rural areas as a result of lacking the ability to enforce the minimum age requirement in these areas. Practically, the high level of absence has a major impact on the performance of students in the long run. This challenges the researchers of this paper to investigate the root social and demographic factors for such a problem. Abdullah Abin Al-Zubir School is chosen as a case study. To identify such factors, a data mining Decision Support System (DSS) is developed to classify the most probable students to get absent from their schools from the least probable ones. Results show the most contributing factors in the absenteeism problem of Abdullah Abin Al-Zubir Schools students are age: the number of family members, the family income and mothers employment status.