Absenteeism from Theory Classes: Perspective of Medical Students

Absenteeism is one of the most important and increasing educational problems of universities in recent years whose consequences have a negative impact on many academic aspects of students. The purpose of this study was to identify and prioritize the factors affecting absenteeism from theory classes from the perspective of basic sciences medical students at Shiraz University of Medical Sciences in 2015.
This descriptive cross-sectional study was conducted on 209 basic science medical students who were selected through convenience sampling (census) from October and February semester students in 2012-13 academic year. Data collection tool was a researcher-made questionnaire. The face validity of the questionnaire was confirmed by educational experts and its reliability was measured through Cronbach’s alpha coefficient (α = 0.8). It included 26 items in five-point Likert scale (1 to 5) that were divided into 4 domains as recommended by medical education experts. The data were analyzed using descriptive statistics.
The mean scores of the domains related to students’ views about absenteeism from theory classes were classroom management (4±0.59), individual conditions of class engagement (4±0.48), instructor’s academic ability and teaching method (3±0.58) and time and place of classes (2. 8±0.68). Students agreed with the effect of class management and class engagement on absenteeism, while disagreed with the effect of time and place of class on absenteeism.
Results showed that from the viewpoints of students, class management and individual conditions for class engagement could affect medical students’ absenteeism from theory classes. Prioritization of these factors could easily eliminate the weaknesses and enhance instructor-learner communication.