Effect of parental support systems on truancy intervention effectiveness among public secondary schools, Lagos State

Abstract

This paper investigated the role of different parental support systems on truancy intervention effectiveness in public secondary schools in Lagos State, Nigeria. The study adopted a quantitative research method and integrated data collected from parents. The cross-sectional survey method was employed to collect quantitative data from a sample size of 180 respondents using simple random sampling technique. The study location was Surulere LGA, Lagos State, covering six public secondary schools. The research instrument for collecting the quantitative data was a structured questionnaire on a face-to-face basis. Collected data was analyzed with SPSS version 23, and the results were presented using percentages, tables, frequency distribution, and cross tabulations. The theoretical framework employed the model of parental involvement to explain the importance of parental support in truancy intervention efforts. The findings indicated that only 13.3% of parents attend PTA meetings/workshops to encourage their child's school attendance and only 16.7% help their child finish up with homework while on 18.7% of parents make frequent trips to school on open day events monitor their child’s school attendance and support truancy intervention programs. The chi-square shows a result of X2=90.0 with a value of 0.000 which reveals a significant relationship between different parental support systems and truancy intervention effectiveness. The findings of this study have implications for truancy intervention effectiveness by way of strengthening parental support systems through active engagement, communication, and collaboration with the school.