المملكة: Specialists for “Al-Youm”: The absence of students before exams is a societal culture that needs to create educational attraction

As Final exam period, the phenomenon of mass student absence comes to the surface again in what is known as “Dead Week,” which constitutes a real challenge to the educational and pedagogical system in the Kingdom.

Specialists confirm that confronting this phenomenon requires abandoning traditional solutions based on penalties and strict regulatory regulations only, and moving towards understanding the real reasons for absence, devising interactive methods of attraction, and activating the fateful integration between the school and the family to restore prestige and productivity to these crucial days of The academic year.

The educational environment and the challenges of discipline

In a related context, academics and educators confirmed that the absence of students in the last week before the exams reflects negatively on academic achievement and deprives them of periods of cognitive and psychological support and preparation for the final assessment.

They explained in their interview with “Al-Youm” to discuss the causes and solutions of mass absence, that the phenomenon oscillates between an inherited societal culture that reduces the importance of review days, and fatigue. And accumulated pressures resulting from the length of semesters and the increase in academic and administrative requirements.
They stressed that the most sustainable solution lies in transforming this period into a station for preparation and empowerment through interactive workshops and innovative competitions, in addition to activating electronic systems for rapid monitoring in parallel with enhancing family awareness, which represents the first vector of student behavior and tendencies toward discipline.

Reviewing the environment and accumulated pressures

The assistant professor of special education and assistant executive director for business development at the University’s Universal Access Program explained King Saud, Dr. Mashael Al-Obaid, said that addressing the problem of absence is not limited to holding the student responsible for attendance only, but rather requires looking deeply into the reasons leading to it.
She indicated that among the most prominent of these reasons are the increase in academic and administrative requirements, the abundance of systems and procedures related to study, in addition to the length of the semester and the accompanying fatigue and pressures accumulated on students throughout the year.

Al-Obaid confirmed that when these requirements exceed the student’s ability to balance study with other aspects of his life, absence becomes an indicator of the need to review the educational environment and its implementation mechanisms, and not just a behavioral violation that requires procedural punishment. Only.
She stressed that reducing this phenomenon necessarily requires achieving a careful balance between the quality of educational outcomes and the requirements of practical application, taking into account students’ abilities and different circumstances, to ensure a healthy and stimulating educational environment.

Integration of roles and psychological preparation

PhD researcher and social worker, Amal Bint Abdullah Al-Shahrani, explained that the phenomenon of absence before exams negatively affects students’ academic achievement, and is mostly linked to an inherited societal culture more than to the school curricula. itself.
She pointed out that electronic systems and regulations contribute effectively to monitoring and reducing absence, but their success and effectiveness depend entirely on the integration of roles between the school and the family.

Al-Shahrani stressed that the family has a pivotal role in enhancing discipline and instilling the importance of attendance in the hearts of children, while schools can motivate students through interactive review programs and integrated psychological preparation for tests. She stressed the importance of reintroducing this final week to the community and students as a vital stage for academic preparation and empowerment, which enhances maximum benefit from it and raises rates of attendance and behavioral discipline.

Attraction Industry and Innovation Week

The social studies teacher and giftedness coordinator at the Gifted Primary School, Fatima Alkam, confirmed that the collective absence of students before exams is an “inherited societal culture” that weakens the student’s connection to his educational environment in the most delicate periods of cognitive and psychological support.
She explained that addressing this phenomenon does not succeed through regulatory regulations alone, but rather through “creating educational attraction” and integrating awareness between school and home.

Alakum put forward a strategic proposal that it successfully implemented to transform this week into “Achievement and Innovation Week” through two tracks; The first is the “Closing Projects Expo” to transform the week into a platform that displays the students’ scientific and innovative products and projects completed throughout the year and crowns them with an official honor that connects attendance with passion. The second track is “Smart Competitive Reviews” by abandoning memorization and providing review and psychological preparation workshops through interactive digital templates and enthusiastic competitive games that make the student feel his cognitive advantage daily, stressing that investing in motivation and innovation is the most sustainable solution.

Smart review and family awareness

A kindergarten teacher explained. Children, Najla Al-Anazi, said that absence in the last week directly affects academic achievement. Because it is designated for review, treatment of educational loss, and psychological preparation, the student’s interruption deprives him of the opportunity to consolidate information. The phenomenon was attributed to families’ belief in the end of courses, and to a societal culture that sees these days as less important despite their significant impact on students’ results.

Al-Anazi confirmed that the Ministry of Education adopts electronic systems to monitor attendance daily, allowing rapid communication with parents and implementing behavioral regulations, but their effectiveness is linked to the family’s awareness, which shapes the student’s attitudes. When they allow absence, a false concept is established in them that the period is not important.
It called on schools to innovate attractive methods, such as digital review workshops and anxiety counseling sessions, proposing to launch a comprehensive national awareness campaign and conduct field studies to understand the causes of absence and build sustainable solutions.

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