Date of Award
2004
Document Type
Dissertation
Degree Name
Doctor of Education
Department
Fischler Graduate School of Education and Human Services
Advisor
June Fishback
Committee Member
Clifford Claiborne
Committee Member
Maryellen Maher
Keywords
average daily attendance, committees, elementary school students, incentives, in-service opportunities, intensive incentive reward program, program guidelines, reward programs, school attendance, schoolwide programs, stakeholders, student attendance, tardiness, truancy
Abstract
This applied dissertation was designed and implemented to increase attendance and reduce tardiness of elementary students. Frequent absenteeism and tardiness could eventually lead to students exiting school before graduation.
The writer developed a schoolwide intensive incentive reward program. The strategies, activities, and interventions to improve attendance and to reduce tardiness included (a) program guidelines, (b) reward of incentives to students, (c) formation of committees, and (d) provision of in-service opportunities for all stakeholders.
Implementation of the applied dissertation increased the average daily attendance rate from 93.4% to 94.5%. The tardiness of students was reduced from 4.6% to 2.3%. Student attendance and tardiness during the implementation period of 2003-2004 were compared to attendance and tardiness during the same 2002-2003 baseline periods.