University classroom milieus: educational programmes and schools’ expectations

The hypothesis is that mandatory students’ attendance policy improves their class attendance. This study sought to see if mandatory class attendance policy in a higher institution Eswatini improves students’ class attendance. This hypothesis was tested simply by marking class register for students studying sociology of education at undergraduate and post graduate levels. Focus was on how students’ attendance and absenteeism rates were changing and how distributions of absences were undermining the policy and teaching and learning. It was captured through students’ attendance and absenteeism patterns. Resistant theory was used to unpack absenteeism; it is a form of resistance. Documents used were sampled through stratified purposive sampling procedures. Sampled documents were EFM 210 and EFM510 class registers lists. Data were collected from documentary evidence and systematic observation of university contexts. The data were analysed through content and inferential analysis. Findings indicated that mandatory attendance policy had challenges in improving students’ attendance, there were high rate of absenteeism. Students’ culture of absenteeism denied them opportunities to emulate integrity and excellence from their classroom lectures. This became threat to development of professionalism and other key competencies, time management and soft communication skills. It concluded that students’ class attendance and absenteeism patterns were signalling deeper institutional problems, which demand meaningful university interventions. It may recommend that university should engage into self-reflection on the implications of absenteeism in teaching and learning and its graduates.