ABSENT YET PRESENT: A PHENOMENOLOGICAL STUDY ON THE LIVED EXPERIENCES AND CONTRIBUTING FACTORS OF STUDENT ABSENTEEISM IN PUBLIC HIGH SCHOOLS

EDUCATION

Student absenteeism persists as a critical global concern that compromises educational equity, deepens social stratification, and hinders the realization of long-term learner outcomes. Particularly in public high schools within economically marginalized settings, chronic absenteeism reflects not merely behavioral lapses but entrenched socio-cultural, psychological, and institutional dysfunctions. This study aims to explore the lived experiences of frequently absent students in a Philippine public high school, alongside the perspectives of teachers and administrators who confront this phenomenon daily. Grounded in phenomenology and framed through Bronfenbrenner’s Ecological Systems Theory, the research illuminates how multilayered ecological influences from family dynamics and peer relationships to institutional policy and socio-economic stressors interact to shape school disengagement. Employing a qualitative, phenomenological design, the study gathered data through in-depth, semi-structured interviews with purposively selected participants. Thematic analysis revealed three core challenges educators face: limited parental support, compounded socio-economic vulnerabilities, and a lack of institutional resources for proactive intervention. These findings suggest that absenteeism is a lived reality of exclusion social, emotional, and systemic that policy responses often fail to fully capture. Theoretically, this research contributes to educational sociology by contextualizing absenteeism within localized, lived realities often absent from dominant attendance discourses. Practically, it advocates for student-centered, culturally responsive, and ecologically grounded policies. Its insights hold implications for regional education governance, teacher professional development, and school-based reforms aiming to address absenteeism holistically. This work invites critical rethinking of attendance frameworks that prioritize presence over participation and punitive over preventive approaches.

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