School attendance and school absenteeism: A primer for the past, present, and theory of change for the future

Abstract

School attendance and school absenteeism have been studied for over a century, leading to a rich and vast literature base. At the same time, powerful demographic, climate, social justice/equity, and technological/globalization forces are compelling disparate stakeholders worldwide to quickly adapt to rapidly changing conditions and to consider new visions of child education for the next century. These overarching forces are utilized within a theory of change approach to help develop such a vision of school attendance/absenteeism for this era. This approach adopts key long-range outcomes (readiness for adulthood for all students; synthesized systemic and analytic approaches to school attendance/absenteeism) derived from thematic outputs (reframing, social justice, and shared alliances) that are themselves derived from contemporary inputs (movement of educational agencies worldwide toward readiness for adulthood, technological advances, schools, and communities as one). As with theory of change approaches, the purpose of this discourse is not to provide a roadmap but rather a compass to develop multi-stakeholder partnerships that can leverage shared resources and expertise to achieve a final mutual goal.

Translating sophisticated data analytic strategies regarding school attendance and absenteeism into targeted educational policy

“…Fundamental variations to schooling caused by health-related crises, climate change, demographic shifts, and technology, among other key alterations, have also raised new implications for community-level data collection and analysis (Kearney et al, 2022). New questions have emerged to understand further the intersection of communities and schools, especially as it relates to school attendance.…”

School absenteeism among students in Germany, Japan, Sweden, and the United Kingdom:

“…Internationally, school non-attendance has long been in focus (Reid, 2008(Reid, , 2012(Reid, , 2016Ricking, 2003;Kearney et al, 2022). Different concepts are used in the international literature, such as 'truancy', 'school absenteeism', 'persistent school absenteeism', and 'school refusal behaviour'.…”

School refusal: a case‐based exploration of school avoidance

“…According to the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO), around 17% of children worldwide do not attend school, with many of these children unable to do so due to barriers such as gender, disability, ethnicity, or social determinants of health, among other reasons (Kearney et al, 2022; UNESCO Institute for Statistics, 2019). Chronic school absenteeism, often defined as missing 10% or more of the school year, can affect students of all ages.…”

“…Behavioral and mental health specialists should prioritize these to optimize a student's health and academic performance. Schools are places for academic and socio‐emotional development, and previous studies have shown that better attendance is correlated with numerous positive outcomes, including better test performance and lower dropout rates (Kearney et al, 2022; Rhode Island Kids Count, 2023). In addition, schools often provide access to safe spaces and food that some youth may not have at home.…”

“…Expectations should be clearly communicated while also validating the student's experience. Some studies have shown that positive interventions (e.g., those that boost well‐being) from systems and schools improve attendance rates, while punitive interventions (e.g., arrests, suspension, fines) have been shown to negatively impact school attendance rates (Kearney et al, 2022).…”