Evaluating the link between attendance and performance in higher education: the role of classroom engagement dimensions

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.

Keywords:

• Student attendance
• student performance
• mediation analysis
• student engagement

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.