STUDENT ABSENTEEISM IN HIGHER EDUCATION: THE CASE OF THE FACULTY OF ECONOMICS AND BUSINESS AT THE UNIVERSITAT DE BARCELONA

The aim of the present study is to identify and analyse the variables that most influence absenteeism in the university classrooms of the Faculty of Economics and Business at the Universitat de Barcelona. Students' point of view has been considered in the analysis. Data were collected during the spring of 2017, with a sample of 1,896 students from the Business Administration, Economics and Sociology degrees of the Faculty of Economics and Business. A questionnaire supported by the existing literature was used, obtaining a Cronbach's alpha of 0.70 and statistically significant for the T-square test of Hotelling and the test of Tukey's additivity. Students were asked to select, out of 18 potential motives, those that explained best the behaviour of their absentee companions, answering the question "in your opinion why your classmates do not attend class?" The applied factor analysis reveals the existence of five dimensions or constructs that explain absenteeism at university classrooms. Those factors are: (1) extrinsic elements of teaching and intrinsic of the students' organization, (2) teachers, (3) teaching methodology, (4) the simplicity of the subject and (5) external resources available. This paper contributes to the knowledge in identifying the causes of university absenteeism, and to apply strategies that guide students correctly from the very beginning of their studies to avoid this problem. Educational actions are proposed to solve absenteeism at university classrooms according to each motivation.