CHAPTER ONE
INTRODUCTION
1.1 BACKGROUND OF STUDY
Truancy among students has become a growing problem. It is the act of deliberately missing one or more classes. Globally, truancy has been regarded as a canker worm that has eaten deep into the fabrics of the educational programmed and has caused a lot of setbacks for secondary school students in their educational pursuits (Stoll, 1993; Gesinde, 2004; Adeyemi, 2006; Animasahun, 2007b). It leads to potential delinquent activity, social isolation, or educational failure via suspension, expulsion, or dropping out (Huizinga, Loeber, Thorn berry & Cothern, 2000; Huizinga, Loeber & Thornberry, 1994; Morris, Ehren & Lenz, 1991).
Truancy is any intentional unauthorized or illegal absence from compulsory schooling. It may also refer to students who attend school but do not go to classes.
Truancy is non-school attendance behavior. It is an irregular attendance of school. Truancy is a delinquent and antisocial behavior (Animasahun, 2009). Animations (2007a) suggested truancy to be an act of staying off school, which is one of the several kinds of antisocial behaviours.