Abstract
One of the reported problems in the Honduran education system is teacher absenteeism. Although precise rates have not been provided, it is generally understood that the absenteeism rates tend to be higher in rural schools because of several working conditions. Previous literatures suggests that working conditions such as multi-grade teaching, scarce resources and teacher pay, among others, make rural schools unattractive for teachers to work there. It also suggests that several reasons such as remote location, a recruitment process that fails to place teachers in their desired workplaces and union involvement, specifically in Honduras, are some of the reasons that teachers have to be absent at schools. This case study compares two schools with low and average rates of absenteeism to compare their working conditions such as multi-grade teaching, parental support, resources, government support and teacher pay in relation to teacher absenteeism. It also analyzes the teacher recruitment process, the location of schools and access to transportation, the union involvement and teachers’ attitudes and motivations towards work as possible reasons for teacher absences in schools. The study finds that multi-grade teaching is the greatest challenge principals and teachers have in rural school in relation to teacher absenteeism and that scarce resources are very limiting. In this case, the reasons that explained most of the absenteeism patterns observed were union involvement and teachers’ motivation and attitude towards work.
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