TITLE-
IMPACT OF ATTENDANCE PRESSURE ON STUDENT WELL-BEING AND LEARNING
AUTHOR-
Aastha Chavan
Aliza Shaikh
Shreya Mishra
INTRODUCTION
Strict attendance requirements in colleges often create continuous pressure on students to remain physically present in lectures. This pressure can negatively affect mental well-being, leading to stress, anxiety, and reduced motivation. As students focus on meeting attendance criteria, genuine learning and understanding may take a secondary role. This calls for a balanced academic approach that values both student health and meaningful education.
OBJECTIVES
To understand the underlying phenomenon of “Impact of Attendance Pressure on Student Well-Being and Learning”
LITERATURE REVIEW
1. Katie Finning, Obioha C. Ukoumunne, Tamsin Ford, Emilia Danielson-Waters, Liz Shaw, Ingrid Romero De Jager, Lauren Stentiford, Darren A. Moore First published: 27 February 2019 Volume 24,Issue 3
This systematic review examined the relationship between anxiety and poor school attendance. Findings indicate a clear association between anxiety disorders—particularly social, generalized, and separation anxiety—and unexcused absences, truancy, and school refusal. Evidence for links with overall absenteeism or excused/medical absences was limited. The review highlights the need for higher-quality and longitudinal research to better understand these relationships.
2. O’Brien, D. (2025). Turning up: The effect of mandatory and assessed attendance on educational experiences and student wellbeing. In R. Door (Ed.), Accessibility, inclusivity and diversity in education and beyond (Biomedical Visualization, Vol. 8). Springer.
Mandatory attendance is widely used in higher education, particularly in medicine, to promote engagement and learning outcomes. While attendance supports skill development and exposure to the hidden curriculum, it often fails to account for students’ personal, health, and caregiving responsibilities. Strict enforcement can increase stress, reduce learner autonomy, and negatively affect student well-being. Evidence suggests that physical presence alone does not reflect academic ability, which should instead be measured through assessments.
DATACOLLECTION
To understand the underlying phenomena of impact of attendance pressure on student well-being and learning the following questions were frame with likert scale
Q1.I feel stressed by the attendance rules
Q2.I attend classes mainly to maintain attendance, not for learning.
Q3.I will come to college if attendance criteria is reduced
Q4.I attend lectures even when I am unwell or exhausted just to avoid attendance shortage.
Q5.I feel forced to attend classes even when I do not find the lecture useful.
A google form was created with the above questions with 5-point scale and responses were quoted as 5- strongly agree 4- agree 3- neutral 2- disagree 1- strongly disagree
Data was download on google sheet and for every question mean, standard deviation, standard error, T-stat were calculated.
DATA ANALYSIS
|
Particulars |
Q1 |
Q2 |
Q3 |
Q4 |
Q5 |
|
Mean |
3.04 |
2.95 |
3.06 |
2.93 |
3.15 |
|
Standard Deviation |
1.31 |
1.38 |
1.35 |
1.38 |
1.34 |
|
Standard Error |
0.20 |
0.21 |
0.20 |
0.21 |
0.20 |
|
T-Stat |
0.19 |
-0.27 |
0.32 |
-0.35 |
0.73 |
|
Result |
Neutral |
Neutral |
Neutral |
Neutral |
Neutral |
CONCLUSION
Q1: People are neutral towards feeling stressed by attendance rules (T-stat = 0.19).
Q2: People are neutral towards attending classes mainly to maintain attendance rather than for learning (T-stat = –0.27).
Q3: People are neutral towards coming to college if attendance criteria is reduced (T-stat = 0.32).
Q4: People are neutral towards attending lectures even when unwell or exhausted to avoid attendance shortage (T-stat = –0.35).
Q5: People are neutral towards feeling forced to attend classes even when lectures are not useful (T-stat = 0.73).
REFERENCES
1.Katie Finning, Obioha C. Ukoumunne, Tamsin Ford, Emilia Danielson-Waters, Liz Shaw, Ingrid Romero De Jager, Lauren Stentiford, Darren A. Moore First published: 27 February 2019 Volume 24,Issue 3
2. O’Brien, D. (2025). Turning up: The effect of mandatory and assessed attendance on educational experiences and student wellbeing. In R. Door (Ed.), Accessibility, inclusivity and diversity in education and beyond (Biomedical Visualization, Vol. 8). Springer
