Abstract
Does attendance matter? This question has still not been answered conclusively. In general, studies find positive but mostly weak correlations between attendance and performance. However, due to technological changes in learning, attendance in higher education seems to lose its importance since students do not have to attend class to get access to course material. The question that arises is whether information on purely descriptive attendance is sufficient to prove the positive effects of attendance on performance. This study takes a closer look at the link between attendance and performance, examining classroom engagement dimensions as mediating factors. The results suggest that it does not matter if but rather how students attend class.
Acknowledgements
The author wants to thank Rainer Voßkamp, Jochen Michaelis, Andreas Wagner and Vahidin Jeleskovic for their help gathering data.
Disclosure statement
No potential conflict of interest was reported by the authors.
Additional information
Notes on contributors
Stefan Büchele
Stefan Büchele is a lecturer and research fellow at the University of Kassel. His research interest includes programme evaluations as well as students' performance in higher education.