School Absences Among Fourth Grade Students and Their Correlates with Maslow s Hierarchy of Needs

AUTHOR(S):

Beti Lameva, Zhaneta Chonteva

TITLE

School Absences Among Fourth Grade Students and Their Correlates with Maslow's Hierarchy of Needs

ABSTRACT

Students from the Republic of North Macedonia consistently perform below the international average in mathematics and science, as evidenced by the 2023 Trends in International Mathematics and Science Study (TIMSS), which assessed 4,633 fourth graders. Notably, 24% of these students reported being absent from school once a week, nearly double the international average of 13%. Consistent with prior research, frequent absenteeism was associated with lower academic achievement. This study examined the relationships between student absenteeism and unmet needs based on Maslow’s hierarchy of needs, focusing on physiological, safety, belongingness, and esteem needs. Spearman rank-order correlations indicated that higher absenteeism was significantly associated with increased reports of hunger (r = .08), tiredness (r = .17), bullying exposure (r = .20), lower sense of school belonging (r = –.11), and reduced confidence and interest in mathematics and science (r ranging from –.10 to –.20), all at p < .001. An ordinal logistic regression model revealed that tiredness (e.g., daily tiredness: B = –0.40, p < .001), bullying frequency (weekly bullying: B = 0.51, p < .001), lower sense of school belonging (some belonging vs. little: B = –0.36, p < .001), and lower confidence in mathematics and science significantly predicted higher absenteeism, while hunger and attitudes toward the subjects were not significant predictors. These findings highlight the importance of addressing students’ holistic needs through a whole-school approach involving family, peers, and broader social contexts. The results have been shared with education policymakers to inform ongoing reforms in primary education curricula and student support systems.

KEYWORDS

school absenteeism, hierarchy of needs, TIMSS 2023, ordinal logistic regression, whole-school approach

Cite this paper

Beti Lameva, Zhaneta Chonteva. (2025) School Absences Among Fourth Grade Students and Their Correlates with Maslow's Hierarchy of Needs. International Journal of Education and Learning Systems, 10, 52-61