The relationship between attendance and academic achievement in mathematics: a quantitative case study of SDU University, Kazakhstan

Abstract

Previous research on the link between class attendance and students’ academic performance has reported inconsistent results: while some studies have shown a positive correlation, others have failed to find such a relationship. This calls for further investigation to better understand the relationship between these two variables. However, in the Kazakhstani context, there is a dearth of research investigating this phenomenon. Therefore, the present quantitative study examined the relationship between class attendance and academic achievement in four mathematics courses by analyzing data from two separate anonymous online survey instruments administered to 60 fourth-year students at SDU University in southern Kazakhstan. Data were analyzed using both descriptive and inferential statistics. The perception questionnaire results indicated that students generally agreed that regular class attendance is associated with academic achievement (M = 4.07, SD = 0.93). Correlation and regression analyses revealed a significant positive association between class attendance and academic achievement in three courses, while one course showed a very weak and non-significant relationship. However, attendance explained only a relatively small proportion of the variance in students’ academic performance across the courses. The findings also suggest that students perceived classmates’ support, quality of teaching, self-study, and teachers’ support as relevant to academic success in mathematics. Therefore, this study concludes that students’ academic achievement is associated with multiple factors beyond class attendance.