Effects of computer-assisted telecommunications on school attendance

Abstract

Abstract: The purpose of this study was to determine if selected students whose homes were called, using a computer-assisted telecommunications device, on days when they were not in school would show an expected difference in school attendance, compared with selected students whose homes were not called. We also compared students in the control group with students in experimental groups by race, sex, and socioeconomic level. The results of the year-long study revealed that students whose homes were called on days when they were absent, using the computer-assisted telecommuni-cation devices, showed higher subsequent attendance rates than did students whose homes were not called. 1 The purpose of this study was to determine if selected students who were absent from school and who received calls to their homes from the principal, via a computer message device, would have a better school attendance record than would students whose homes were not called. 2 We expect that students who were absent on a particular day, and whose homes were called by a programmed computer device, would have better attendance records than would students whose homes were not called. It was also anticipated that there would be improved school attendance by students of differing sexes, races, and socioeconomic levels whose homes were called when they wer