The aim of this paper is exploring questions regarding the problem of absenteeism among high-school students in Sweden. Fifteen students attending an urban high-school have been interviewed about their views and experiences of absenteeism. The author analyzes the students’ answers by taking into account two different sociological approaches which give two different explanations about the way young people experience and estimate education. The French sociologist Bourdieu theorized that differences in cultural capital influence the permanent internalization of patterns of thought and behavior. Bourdieu defined as habitus the result of the process of internalization of cultural and social structures which affects the way individuals think and act.

The German pedagogue Thomas Ziehe explored the changes in norms and tradition connected with the modernization of society. Ziehe argued that we are witnessing a period of cultural release and erosion crisis that have deeply affected and changed the lives of young people today.  What does influence students’ attitude towards absenteeism? Does absenteeism reflect different possession of cultural resources or may be explained by the changes in norms that have occurred over recent decades? The findings of this study show that the students’ socio-economical background still matters in affecting their opinions and attitude towards absenteeism, but that is not an exhaustive argument in explaining all the reasons why students do not go till school. The students’ answer suggested that the relation to the teacher may be a determining factor in explaining absenteeism.