Effects of Computer-Assisted Telecommunications on School Attendance

Journal of Educational Research, July/August 1989 [Vol. 82 (No.6)], pp. 362-365. Effects of Computer-Assisted Telecommunications on School Attendance Carroll M. Helm Walters State Community College Charles W. Burkett East Tennessee State University Abstract: The purpose of this study was to determine if selected students whose homes were called, using a computer-assisted telecommunications device, on days when they were not in school would show an expected difference in school attendance, compared with selected students whose homes were not called. We also compared students in the control group with students in experimental groups by race, sex, and socioeconomic level. The results of the year-long study revealed that students whose homes were called on days when they were absent, using the computer-assisted telecommunication devices, showed higher subsequent attendance rates than did students whose homes were not called. 1 The purpose of this study was to determine if selected students who were absent from school and who received calls to their homes from the principal, via a computer message device, would have a better school attendance record than would students whose homes were not called. 2 We expect that students who were absent on a particular day, and whose homes were called by a programmed computer device, would have better attendance records than would students whose homes were not called. It was also anticipated that there would be improved school attendance by students of differing sexes, races, and socioeconomic levels whose homes were called when they were absent from school when compared with the attendance of those whose homes were not called. Finally, we expected that no difference in attendance among the three schools would result when we compared the experimental groups with the control groups. 3 This study is important for at least two reasons. First, school absence is one the first indications that a student will eventually drop out of school if no action is taken. Second, in most states, school funding is received from the state based on average daily attendance; therefore, poor school attendance decreases school revenue. 4 The subject of parent notification of student absenteeism and its effect on subsequent attendance patterns has not received much attention in the literature to date. Although Butler (1925) authored one of the first truancy-related studies in the United States, little research has been done since that time. One of the first studies relating to school-parent involvement and its effect on attendance was completed by Copeland, Brown, Axelrod, and Hall (1972). By telephoning the parents of absent students, school officials achieved a significant increase in attendance. 362

5 Other studies (Fiordaliso, Largeness, Filipczak, & Friedman, 1977; Sheats & Dunkleberger, 1979) concluded that a well-formulated plan of school-initiated contacts to parents of chronically absent students offers the school a means of achieving a significant reduction in absenteeism. Bittle (1976) completed two studies that initially used a recorded message by school officials to keep parents informed of their child s academic performance and attendance record. Bittle concluded that telephone communication between parents and school administrators was an effective way of reducing student absenteeism but that individual telephone contacts could be a time-consuming process. 6 The first study to use a computer dialing device to monitor school attendance was conducted by McDonald (1986). McDonald found that a strong and positive relationship existed between the variables of parental notification and improved school attendance. He also found that students of families receiving computer calls showed a higher rate of attendance than students receiving personal calls or no calls. Poor school attendance has been referred to as a red flag or indicator that students are undergoing a crisis (Sargent, 1985). If a computer-assisted telecommunications device could increase average daily attendance and if the device could save valuable administrative time, then administrators would have a tool for helping students and the schools. Method 7 We selected participants for the study from two high schools and one middle school in Hamblen County, Tennessee. Fifty students were selected from each school to serve in the control group. We chose these 150 students at the beginning of the school year by using a simple random sample technique. No calls were made to the homes of the students who were absent in the control group. A second sample for the experimental group was drawn. We followed the same procedure for selecting the sample for this group as for the control group and selected 150 students, 50 from each school. Each of these students was called at the end of the days that they were absent from school, using the automatic dialing device. Procedures 8 We sent a letter to all of the participants parents explaining that the schools were testing the effects of a computer dialing device and that their cooperation was needed. Parents who wished not to be called with the devices were given that option. We tested the computer devices and then put them into operation in the first month of the school year. Secretaries or student workers keyed in the names of the students who were absent on a particular day. The device self-activated at 6:00 p.m. each school day and continued dialing until the home of each student, whose name was on the absentee list, was reached. When the telephone was answered at the home of the absent child, a prerecorded message from the principal was heard by whomever answered the telephone. 9 A typical message might say: This is Sam Horne, principal of Powell Valley High School. Our records indicate that your child missed school today. If we are in error, or if you have any questions or comments about this absence, please call Mr. Bewley from 9:00 a.m. until 11:00 a.m. tomorrow. Thank you. The computer dialing device generated a daily list of who was called and who was reached or not reached by the computer dialing device. 363

10 Data collection took place after the eighth month of the school year (May, 1987). A computergenerated record of each student s attendance was taken from the Tennessee Register Program (a computer attendance software package developed for the schools by the state of Tennessee). The two data screens contained all the information necessary to make the analysis. A report was generated from the computer telecommunications program and summarized the daily activity by the automatic calling device. We used this information to determine what percentage of student homes called were actually reached by the computer dialing device. Then we gathered and analyzed the attendance data on the control and experimental groups and compared the attendance records. Data Analysis 11 We postulated the hypotheses and statistically tested the null form of each. The t test for independent samples was used to determine expected differences in hypothesis 1. We also used four factorial ANOVAS to determine the interaction among the mediating variables of sex, race, socioeconomic level, and schools in hypotheses 2, 3, 4 and 5. In all cases involving comparison, the minimum acceptable level for determining statistical significance was.05. The hypotheses and the results of the tests follow. Results Hypothesis 1 stated: 12 There are no differences in attendance between students whose homes are called with the computer device and students whose homes are not called. The data testing hypothesis 1 are presented in Table 1. Those students who were called by the calling device had better attendance records than did those who were not called. The findings in Table 1 show, without exception, that the attendance of students whose homes were called each day was greatly improved. Therefore, the expectations associated with hypothesis 1 were supported by these findings. Table 1. Comparison of Attendance of Students Whose Homes Were Called with the Computer Device and Students Whose Homes Were Not Called Group N Mean days absent SD Difference Called 127 6.55 3.38 3.38 Not Called 147 11.18 11.69 Note: t = 3.0009. df = 272. p <.05. Required t value = 1.645. Hypothesis 2 stated: 13 Students whose homes are called on days that they are absent from school show better attendance records than do students who are not called, when the students are sorted and compared by sex. 14 The comparisons displayed in Table 2 show that the calls to the homes made a difference in attendance records. The sex of the students who were called or not called made no difference. The main effect that we tested was whether there would be a difference between the attendance of stu- 364

dents who were absent on a particular day and whose homes were called on that day and that of students who were not called. 15 The ANOVA test for differences between and within students who were not called showed that when the sex of the students was taken into account the main effect (whether the students were called or not called) was the only significant effect. Table 2. Comparison of Attendance by Sex of Students Whose Homes were Called with the Computer and Students Not Called Treatment 567.93 1 567.93 8.14 0.0049 Sex 180.47 1 180.47 2.59 0.1048 Interaction 31.74 1 31.74 1.00 0.5077 Residual 18690.32 268 69.74 Total 20281.64 271 71.84 Hypothesis 3 stated: 16 Students whose homes are called on the days that they are absent do not have a better attendance record than do those not called when the students are sorted and compared by the socioeconomic level of their families. 17 The data testing hypothesis 3 are presented in Table 3. The socioeconomic levels of the students had no bearing on attendance. Students whose homes were called had better attendance regardless of their socioeconomic level. The ANOVA showed that there were no significant interactions between or within students attendance based on the socioeconomic levels. This proved true when we compared the attendance records of students from low-socioeconomic levels who were called versus students from low-socioeconomic levels who were not called; students from high-socioeconomic levels who were called versus students from high-socioeconomic levels who were not called; students from high-socioeconomic levels who were called versus students from low-socioeconomic levels who were not called, and vice versa. The only significant effect occurred between students who were called and those not called. Table 3. Comparison of Attendance of Students Whose Homes were Called with the Computer and Students Not Called, by Socioeconomic Level Treatment 718.51 1 718.51 8.10 0.0050 Socioeconomic 182.49 1 182.49 2.06 0.1489 Interaction 181.06 1 181.46 2.04 0.1505 Residual 23962.50 270 88.75 Total 25045.02 273 91.70 Hypothesis 4 stated: 18 Students whose homes are called on days that they are absent do not have a greater attendance record than do those not called, when the students are sorted and compared by race. 365

The data for testing hypothesis 4 are presented in Table 4. Students whose homes were called had better attendance irrespective of the race. We compare student attendance records between White students called and White students not called, Black students called and Black students not called; White students called and Black students not called; and Black students called and White students not called. The ANOVA test showed that no significant interactions existed between or within student s attendance based on race. Table 4. Comparison of Attendance of Students Whose Homes were Called with the Computer Device and Students Not Called, by Race Treatment 841.51 1 841.51 10.02 0.0021 Race 402.70 1 402.70 4.79 0.0276 Interaction 000.00 0 000.00 <1.00 0.0000 Residual 22848.00 272 84.00 Total 24092.82 274 87.93 Hypothesis 5 stated: 19 There is no difference in attendance among the three schools for students who homes were called with the computer dialing device and students whose homes were not called. The data testing hypothesis 5 are presented in Table 5. 20 No significant difference in attendance was found among the three schools for students whose homes were called with the computer dialing device or for students whose homes were not called. The comparisons displayed in Table 5 show that the calls to homes made a difference in the attendance record but not in the schools the student attended. The main effect (whether students were called or not called) was the only effect that was significantly different from chance findings. This finding indicated that students were similarly affected by the computer device at each school. Table 5. Comparison of Attendance of Students Whose Homes were Called with the Computer and Students Not Called, by School Treatment 725.44 1 725.44 8.93 0.0034 Schools 425.92 2 212.96 2.62 0.0726 Interaction 247.00 2 123.50 1.52 0.2189 Residual 21853.56 269 81.24 Total 23251.64 274 84.86 Discussion 21 The results of the present study indicated that students whose homes were called with a computer dialing device had a better overall attendance record than students who were not called. In every instance when students whose homes were called with the computer dialing device were compared with students whose homes were not called, we found a significant difference. 366

22 The computer dialing device evidently had the same effect on students in the three schools used in the study. This finding indicates that similar results could be obtained in areas similar to the one in which conducted this study. 23 Brimm, Forgerty, and Sadler (1978) reported that principals cited student absenteeism as one of their primary concerns, along with a feeling that too much administrative time is allocated to attendance-related tasks (Brimm, et al.). The results of the present study suggest that both concerns could be alleviated in part by using a computer dialing device to combat the attendance problem. A computer dialing device not only saves valuable administrative time but also is proven to be an effective tool in increasing school attendance. Most school systems are funded based on a formula that takes into account the average daily attendance (ADA). By increasing the ADA, therefore, a school system could receive larger amounts of ADA funds. In addition to increased funding, principals would not have to use their valuable time making telephone calls to the homes of truants. Last, but not least, students ought to benefit from being in school regularly; but that is another study. References Bittle, R. (1975). Parent-teacher communications through recorded telephone messages. Journal of Educational Research, 69, 87-95. Brimm, UJ. Forgery, J., & Sadler, K. (1978) Student absenteeism: A survey report. National Association of Secondary School Principals, 65. Butler, C. (1925). School achievement and attendance. School Review, 450-452. Copeland, R. Brown, R., Axelrod, E., & Hall, V. (1972). Effects of a school principal praising parents for student attendance. Educational Technology, pp. 57-59. Fiordaliso, R., Largesess, A., Flipczak, J., & Friedman, R. (1977). Effects of feedback on absenteeism in the junior high school. Journal of Educational Research, 70, 188-192. McDonald, M. (1986). A comparison of the effect of using computer calls and personal calls for improving pupil attendance in public schools. Doctoral dissertation, University of Tennessee. Sargent, E. (1985, April). On the road to the street. The Washington Post., pp. D1, D5. Sheats, D., & Dunkleberger, G. (1979). A determination of the principal s effect in school initiated home contacts concerning attendance of elementary school students. Journal of Educational Research, 72, 310-312. 367