| Public schools continue to struggle with absenteeism of Latino students. In this study, the researcher focused on the issues surrounding absenteeism among elementary school-aged Latino students (9–12 years old) by asking the following question, “Why is there so much absenteeism among elementary school Latino students?” The researcher used focus group methodology, which included students themselves and their parents, and a discussion of the findings with the participants. There were seventeen focus groups (13 groups for students and 4 groups for parents), each comprised 4–10 participants and lasted for one hour. Spanish speaking moderators assisted with the process, especially with the parents. Geographically, both students and parents are from Compton, California. The students were born in the United States, and the parents were born in Mexico.; The dissertation is made up of two separate but related studies. The first study involved 64 students (fifth graders) from the same elementary school. There were 20 girls and 44 boys in the research, a total of 64 students. In this study, the students gave the following as the factors they believed contributed to absenteeism: dislike for their teachers, laziness, academic challenges, school safety, teacher factors, inadequate school infrastructure, racism, language (English) deficiency, and classroom environment. The students suggested the following as remedies: easy reading books, good teachers, a less threatening environment, and serious parental involvement. The second study involved 46 parents from the same school. There were 36 mothers (between 27 and 34 years old) and 10 fathers (between 35 and 40 years old) in the study. The parents believed the following factors contributed to absenteeism: poverty, unfriendly teachers and administration, peer pressure, and a lack of positive value for education. Likewise, the parents suggested the following as remedies: caring teachers and administrators, employment (good income), and easy reading books.; The results of this study indicate that schools, school districts, and the state education department should: implement a balanced and culturally sensitive curriculum, hire culturally sensitive educators, provide professional training for educators, make the school environment attractive, and develop and implement a good English language curriculum to increase student's language proficiency. The developers of curriculum should work to eliminate racism, which is deeply rooted in American institutions. We must also work to develop informed parents, parental involvement, a safe school atmosphere, an interested district, and concerned educators. |
