According to legislation, physical education is a mandatory subject for all primary school students, with absences permitted only when accompanied by a valid excuse from parents or a physician. This master’s thesis aimed to investigate the reasons for excused absences from physical education lessons at a specific school through a case study approach, focusing on written excuses provided by parents or physicians. The analysis covered written excuses submitted between the 2010/2011 and 2022/2023 school years at a medium-sized public primary school in Slovenia. The study included 869 students from grades three to nine, with particular attention given to 335 students – 165 girls (49,3 %) and 170 boys (50,7 %) – who submitted written excuses during the observed period. The research examined the frequency and nature of these excuses (partial or complete), their stated reasons, and the duration of excused periods (short-term or long-term).
The findings revealed that only a small proportion of students were excused by physicians, with most of these excuses covering a period of one month. Physicians were more likely to issue complete excuses, while partial excuses were relatively rare and often accompanied by a medical report. Parental excuses primarily cited injuries, whereas over half of the medical excuses were related to illness. It was also observed that girls were excused more frequently than boys. Notably, menstruation was not the leading reason for girls’ excuses; instead, injuries accounted for nearly half of the justifications provided. For both genders, the highest number of complete excuses was recorded in grade eight. Seasonally, excuses peaked in the fall, particularly in September, suggesting that summer vacations might negatively impact children’s health.
These results contribute to a deeper understanding of absenteeism in physical education and highlight opportunities for reducing it. The findings can support physical education teachers in developing targeted strategies and tailored approaches to encourage student participation and engagement in physical education lessons.
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