A study by Hammill Institute on Disabilities (Caldarella, Christensen, Young &
Densley, 2011), looked at decreasing tardiness in primary school-aged students
using teacher-written praise notes.
researchers found that students who are frequently late to school often miss out on
important opening announcements and academic activities during the first class.
‘Teachers can become frustrated as late students disrupt instruction, often requiring
reteaching of what they have missed. Tardy behavior can also negatively affect the
overall classroom environment,’ the study says.
Arriving late to school can also mean that students miss out on activities designed to
build connections with their peers, potentially impacting their social interactions and
creating a greater sense of alienation from their classmates.
US study titled Schoolwide intervention to reduce chronic tardiness
at the middle and high school levels found that ‘instructional time lost
to widespread tardiness is likely to significantly affect the capacity of
the entire student population to meet rigorous academic standards’.
The research suggests that a system-level intervention is required to
combat student tardiness, to ensure guidelines are current and
consequences for tardy behaviour is implemented and effective.
The report recommends a preventative schoolwide plan include the
following:
active supervision of students in common areas during all transition periods
clear definition and explicit teaching of expectations for behaviour during
transition periods
immediate and consistent consequences for tardiness
data-based decision making with respect to intervention planning and
monitoring of outcomes (Tyre, Feuerborn & Pierce 2011).
The impact on other students
In his 2014 academic paper – The achievement effects of tardy
classmates: Evidence in urban elementary schools – Michael
Gottfried explores the impact of tardy students’ behaviour on their
peers.
Gottfried acknowledges that if teachers respond to the educational
needs of late students by reallocating regular class time, then other
students are adversely affected and classroom instruction is slowed by
this disruption.
‘With tardy students entering the school day at abnormal times and
potentially missing a large number of cumulative instructional hours,
teachers must divert their attention away from regular teaching time
and towards remediation,’ he says. ‘As such, there are negative effects
on achievement generated when one student’s actions impede learning
for other classmates.’
Too Late to Learn: Student Tardiness in the Middle School
Farrar, Ronald James
ProQuest LLC, Ed.D. Dissertation, Cambridge College
This study investigated the social, economic, emotional, medical and psychological
reasons for student tardiness in a middle school setting. The National Education for
Statistics indicates that student tardiness occurs at a rate of 3.3% to 9.5% each day for
all students in kindergarten through grade twelve (Harrman, 2007). It is clear from
literature that tardiness is a major problem. Not only do students lose valuable
educational instruction when they arrive late, but they disrupt the educational
environment and distract others who are in the class. Excessive student tardiness has a
negative impact upon a student's future (Ried, 2000). Some of the implications are
academic failure, high school drop-outs, emotional dependency, drug dependency,
fighting and bullying (Chang & Romero, 2008). Student tardiness is a key factor in
determining if a child will become at risk (Greenfield, 2002). Without intervention,
tardy behaviors often result in serious emotional and social problems (Harrman, 2007).
Within a qualitative design, the researcher interviewed chronically tardy students
individually and in a focus group. Study findings evolved into functional suggestions
for intervention strategies focused on students and parents which can be implemented
by schools and local, state and national government agencies with the goal of reducing
tardiness in the middle school. [The dissertation citations contained here are published
with the permission of ProQuest LLC. Further reproduction is prohibited without
permission. Copies of dissertations may be obtained by Telephone (800)
1-800-521-0600. Web page:
[Link]
