Motivation or Demotivation: Botswana and Nigerian Higher Institutions’ Attendance Policies and Academic Literacy Students’ Perceptions in the Post-COVID-19 Era

Abstract

Policies are sometimes made in the education sector. At higher institutions of learning, students’ attendance policies differ. Most departments leverage the university policy on attendance to promote students’ learning. Understanding the peculiarity of a period is crucial in adhering to the policy made, which most stakeholders in higher institutions consider while promoting standards and quality. Since the attendance policy in the university could affect the performance of academic literacy students, this paper focuses on the attendance policies in two institutions to identify the key regulations in the attendance policies, investigate the impact of the policies on students’ intrinsic motivation, and assemble insights on attendance policies’ modifications to improve students' academic success. A qualitative approach, through open questionnaires, was utilized to collect data from 200 students in two institutions. The open questionnaire elicited significant and relevant data for implementing, assessing, and reviewing the student attendance policies for academic literacy courses. The study observes that the attendance policy could motivate and demotivate students in academic literacy courses, and attention should be paid to intervening factors highlighted in the paper. Additionally, the findings indicate that students’ attendance policies significantly influence academic performance, and recommendations are made for attendance policies for literacy courses at African higher institutions due to peculiar challenges.