School absenteeism is a challenge in many countries. Still, there are few comparisons between countries, which is partly due to a lack of shared definitions of concepts. This article makes use of PISA data to compare self-reported student absenteeism in Germany, Japan, Sweden, and the United Kingdom (UK). Three data sets are used, from 2012, 2015, and 2018. The self-reported absenteeism, which is referred to as truancy in the PISA studies, was measured as having skipped a whole school day at least once in the two full weeks before students completed the PISA student questionnaire. The results show great variation between the studied countries, from 24.4% in the UK in 2015 to 1.5% in Japan in 2012. The percentage of students who reported having skipped school is much higher in the UK than in the other three countries. The differences between the countries concerning the percentage of students reporting having been absent from school are significant for all years, except between Sweden and Germany in 2015. Germany and the UK have a similar pattern in development, with the highest percentages in 2015, while Sweden and Japan have small (albeit not significant) increases from 2012 to 2018. The UK is the only country where the changes between 2012 and 2015 as well as between 2015 and 2018 were significant. It is not possible to see any obvious patterns between the countries that might be linked to differences related to their welfare regimes, education systems, or values. To find such patterns, it may be necessary either to include more countries in a study or to conduct more in-depth studies on each country.
Background A systematic literature review about unaccompanied minors was done with the following focus: scientifically documented effects of supportexperiences of unaccompanied children and youth about positive and negative factors Methods 2 210 abstracts were examined. Assessment of relevance and quality and the analysis were done according to SBU standard. Results No controlled study on effects were fulfilling the inclusion criteria. However, 29 articles with qualitative design were included. Seven overall themes were identified: Security and control: a basic requirementThe new country: both opportunities and difficultiesManaging difficulties: a balance between different strategiesEveryday environments: supportive relationships as well as influence in housing and access to schools and activities are importantRelationships: support and guidance from adults is important, contact with peers important, but also difficultSocial services and health and medical care: varying views on and experiences of support and needsIdentity and affiliation: getting together the past, the present and the future. The seven themes could be grouped in three overarching levels: Basic living conditions and survivalDifficulties and opportunities in everyday lifeWeighting of bringing together existence on an overall plan Conclusions To our knowledge, this is the largest literature review about support for unaccompanied children and youth. In the absence of controlled effect studies, it is particularly important to pay attention to unaccompanied children and youths own experiences when providing guidance for how societýs support for this heterogeneous group can be designed, in accordance with their rights in the Convention on the Rights of the Child. The results of the review are compared to common policies in handling unaccompanied children and youth. Key messages Unaccompanied children have commonly experienced trauma and loss. A lack of basic security has a pronounced effect on the ability to cope with daily issues and difficulties as well as with the future. Unaccompanied children and youth have a great need for adult support and guidance.
There is general consensus on the negative consequences of school non-attendance, but from an international comparative perspective, it is surprising how few studies have compared school attendance problems (SAPs) in different societies and education systems. In this article, SAPs are analysed through the lens of official statistics in four countries with different education systems: England, Japan, Germany (represented by two federal states), and Sweden. The purpose of this article is to investigate which data on school attendance and absence are available in four different countries and to facilitate a comparison between school attendance statistics and possibly different conceptualisations of SAPs. The article analyses statistics and official data collected by national school authorities and education agencies. Backgrounds within systems are provided and differences between the countries are analysed. England and Japan provide official data to the public on a regular basis, while Sweden and most federal states in Germany do not. A lower threshold for how much absence is considered problematic is found for Japan, England, and Thuringia (one of the investigated German federal states) compared to Sweden and Berlin (the other German federal state under study). Due to differences in recording and reporting school attendance, it is not possible to compare the quantitative extent of the problem or trends regarding SAPs across the four countries based on the available official school statistics.
Syftet med artikeln är att analysera organisering av och synen på mottagandet av ensamkommande barn inom socialtjänsten våren 2016 – en tidpunkt då antalet asylsökande ensamkommande barn nyligen nått en extrem omfattning under kort tid. Artikeln baseras på en totalundersökning (enkät) av socialtjänstens resurser, organisering och insatser i arbetet med ensamkommande barn och ungdomar. Resultatet visar att trots en statlig ambition om normalisering och integrering av mottagandet i den sociala barnavården, har en tydlig respons från socialtjänsten varit att specialisera verksamheten utifrån den ökande klientgruppen. Den här studien ger inget belägg för att specialiseringen lett till bättre kvalitet, tvärtom indikeras ett positivt samband mellan kvalitet och en integrerad organisation. Främst tyder studien på att resurser, övergripande samverkan och engagerade politiker har varit viktigt för hur man inom socialtjänsten uppfattar möjligheten att anpassa stödinsatser efter behov och att följa upp insatser. Noterbart med tanke på tidpunkten för studien är att en majoritet av respondenterna (företrädesvis chefer inom socialtjänstens verksamhet för ensamkommande barn) var förhållandevis nöjda med det stöd som erbjöds till ensamkommande barn/ungdomar, dock påtalades brister i möjlighet att följa upp och tillgång till insatser som matchar målgruppens behov.
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