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Persistent Absenteeism among Irish Primary School Pupils

Authors:
Maeve Thornton at Economic and Social Research Institute
Maeve Thornton
Merike Darmody at Economic and Social Research Institute
Merike Darmody
Selina McCoy at Economic and Social Research Institute
Selina McCoy
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Abstract

A growing number of international studies document the importance of regular school attendance. There is a consensus among authors that absenteeism has negative implications for academic achievement as well as the social development of the child and may put them at a disadvantage in terms of their position in the education and labour market. Most of the existing studies have focused on school absenteeism among adolescents with studies on poor school attendance among young children relatively rare. This paper addresses this gap in research by exploring factors that are related to school absenteeism in Irish primary schools. Drawing on a nationally representative study of nine-year-olds, it demonstrates the complexity of the issue. The findings indicate that a combination of institutional and individual factors shape patterns of poor school attendance in Irish primary schools. While the data relate to the Irish situation, the paper raises a number of issues of interest to an international audience.
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... Education is crucial for a child's healthy development. Missing school frequently can lead to lower educational achievement, early school dropout and health problems (1)(2)(3)(4). Most types of absenteeism, i.e., truancy, tardiness and sickness absence, have been shown to affect children negatively (5). ...
... The literature on the problems associated with general school absenteeism in primary education revealed the many different factors related to absenteeism, which are often categorized into school environment, home environment and personal factors (2,19,20). Focusing on the school environment in primary education, the factors found were: school climate, bullying, school engagement and the connection between teacher and child (2,(19)(20)(21)(22)(23). For the home environment, parental involvement, parent's understanding of the importance of school attendance, mental illness and substance abuse were found to be related to absenteeism, as well as family cohesion, conflict, frequent relocation, language barriers, poverty and low socioeconomic status (2,(19)(20)(21)23). ...
... The literature on the problems associated with general school absenteeism in primary education revealed the many different factors related to absenteeism, which are often categorized into school environment, home environment and personal factors (2,19,20). Focusing on the school environment in primary education, the factors found were: school climate, bullying, school engagement and the connection between teacher and child (2,(19)(20)(21)(22)(23). For the home environment, parental involvement, parent's understanding of the importance of school attendance, mental illness and substance abuse were found to be related to absenteeism, as well as family cohesion, conflict, frequent relocation, language barriers, poverty and low socioeconomic status (2,(19)(20)(21)23). ...
How to deal with sickness absence among primary school pupils? Adaptation of the “Medical Advice for Sick-reported Students” intervention
Article
Full-text available
  • Nov 2023
Background Missing school impacts both education and health. The purpose of this study was to address sickness absence in primary schools by adjusting the ‘Medical Advice for Sick-reported Students’ intervention for secondary schools. This was necessary because of fundamental differences in relation to the children’s age and in the schools’ organizational structure. Methods The intervention mapping approach steps 1 through 4 were used to adapt ‘Medical Advice for Sick-reported Students’ to primary schools (MASS-PS), including a literature search, stakeholder interviews, establishing a planning group and pre-testing. Results In step 1, a planning group was formed and a logic model of the problem was created. In step 2, a logic model of change was created. In step 3, a theoretical basis and practical strategies were determined. In step 4, practical support materials were designed, and two pre-tests of the materials were performed. Conclusion Intervention mapping was successfully used to adapt MASS to primary schools. The main changes were the lowering of the threshold for extensive sickness absence, consultations between teacher and attendance coordinator, and addition of two experts. With MASS-PS, sickness absence can be addressed as a “red flag” for underlying problems.
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... The problem, however, as with most attendance strategies , is the distinction made between explained and unexplained absences, resulting in schools recording explained absences that may be masking SAPs. Therefore, whilst Irish school attendance data are recorded, little information is available on the prevalence of SAPs and the factors that may influence particular student groups (Thornton et al., 2013). ...
... Exploring the different factors that impact attendance among Irish primary school pupils, Thornton et al., (2013) examined the impact of emotional and behavioural difficulties on absenteeism for 9-year-olds. They found that emotional difficulties were associated with increased levels of absenteeism and concluded that there was a need for future research to explore emotional and behavioural issues separately, examining how they might affect different children in different ways. ...
... When measuring the direct effect of risk factors on days absent, only low socio-economic status (for the High Risk of EBD and BD classes) and parental conflict (for High Risk of ED and Low risk of EBD classes) directly affected absenteeism. These findings support national and international research that highlights the link between absenteeism and low socio-economic status (NEWB, 2007;Thornton et al., 2013;Sosu et al, 2021). It was also noted by Thornton et al., (2013) that this effect was attenuated in large part by parental conflict. ...
A Latent Class Analysis of Mental Health Symptoms in Primary School Children: Exploring Associations with School Attendance Problems
Article
Full-text available
  • Oct 2023
Although there is a wealth of research addressing the association between mental health and school absenteeism, there are calls for a better understanding of how mental health difficulties might predict SAPs (Egger et al., 2003; Finning et al., 2022; Ingul et al., 2019; Wood et al., 2012). The aim of this paper was to create a more nuanced understanding of SAPs by exploring how different constellations of mental health difficulties might be predictive of absenteeism in 9-year-olds. Using a sample of Irish 9-year-olds (N = 8570) from the Growing Up In Ireland Study (GUI’98), the research used latent class analysis (LCA) to identify combinations of mental health symptoms. Twenty items from the Strengths and Difficulty Questionnaire (SDQ) were used to measure a range of emotional and behavioural difficulties. The analysis yielded four mental health classes—High Risk of Emotional and Behavioural Difficulties (EBD), High Risk of Emotional Difficulties (ED), High Risk of Behavioural Difficulties (BD) and Low Risk of Emotional and Behavioural Difficulties (EBD). The study assessed whether rates of student absenteeism varied across different classes of mental health as identified through LCA and explored risk factors associated with different classes. Children in the high-risk mental health symptomology groups had significantly higher odds of absenteeism compared to the low-risk class and significantly greater odds of experiencing multiple family, school and demographic risk factors. The distinct profiles of mental health symptoms observed within the classes and their patterns of associations with risk factors and days absent indicated classes were theoretically distinct. The results illustrate the importance of recognising the relationship between mental health and school absenteeism in primary school children when developing early intervention strategies for SAPs. As one of the few studies to focus on 9-year-olds, the current study contributes to current knowledge on the complexities of emerging SAPs in primary school children.
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... Other studies point to a statistically significant relationship between truancy and lack of parental authority (Pellerin 2005), overprotection or neglect. Although the mechanisms involved in this relationship are not sufficiently explained, truancy is more frequent in families with low economic and cultural capital, in schools in poorly integrated areas and among some ethnic groups (Thornton, Darmody, and McCoy 2013). ...
School absenteeism, emotional engagement and school organisation: an international comparative approach
Article
Full-text available
  • Oct 2023
This article aims to provide knowledge on the effects of the social composition of schools and the mediating effect of emotional engagement on school absenteeism, from a comparative perspective and using a multilevel methodology. The comparative dimension of the analyses allows us to study whether there is a school effect on absenteeism and whether this differs according to organisational structures. For this purpose, three cities with three different models were considered. Data from the International Study of City Youth (ISCY) were used. Data were collected in three cities Barcelona (Spain), Ghent (Belgium) and Bergen (Norway), with a total sample of N = 6557 pupils in 82 schools. The results show, first, that absenteeism varies between cities and schools according to the model of school organisation. They also revealed the importance of instrumental and expressive student identification as prevention of absenteeism at the individual level. Finally, results reported that a high emotional engagement of pupils can contribute to reducing the effect of the social composition of the school on absenteeism.
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... The finding echoes the finding of Parrish (2015), who established that low social family support negatively affects a child's decision to attend school. In the same vein, Thornton, Darmody and McCoy, 2013 showed that participation in parent-teacher meetings, monitoring the child's school attendance, and homework promotes a child's school attendance. Thus, parents should be vigorously involved in getting their children to school. ...
An Investigation into Truancy Intervention Programmes for Learners in Selected Primary Schools of Choma District in Zambia
Article
Full-text available
  • Aug 2023
The scale and nature of truancy in schools continues to raise significant concern among stakeholders in Zambia. As a result, the purpose of the study was to investigate truancy intervention programmes (TIP) available for learners in selected primary schools of Choma district, Zambia. The study was guided by the Social Control Theory developed by Travis Hirschi (1969) to explain disruptive behaviour and conformity to the established social order. The researchers adopted a descriptive research design. Participants were 51, comprising nine headteachers, nine guidance and counselling teachers, nine class teachers, and 24 pupils from nine randomly selected primary schools in Choma district. Data was collected through interviews and was analysed thematically. The findings revealed that truancy intervention programmes used in primary schools include feeding programmes, registration, remediation, extracurricular activities, parental sensitisation programmes, and guidance and counselling. The researchers recommended that the Ministry of General Education should support the counselling and guidance units in the schools for more coordinated intervention efforts in curbing truancy. The school disciplinary committees should also consider forming Truancy Boards to mitigate truant behaviour among learners.
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... consistent school attendance plays an important role in teaching children the essential skills to act in their environment [9]. children who are frequently absent from school have been found to be socially and academically disadvantaged compared with their peers when it comes to future opportunities in terms of education and employment and the risk of experiencing social and emotional problems [10]. studies have found that children with school absence problems were at higher risk of suffering from mental health problems such as anxiety disorders and depressive symptoms [11,12], while associations also have been found between the presence of chronic illness, subjective health complaints and sleep problems in children and school absence [11,13,14]. ...
Social well-being and problematic school absence among Danish adolescents: A nationwide cross-sectional study
Article
  • May 2023
  • SCAND J PUBLIC HEALT
Aim: Adolescents' well-being and school absence are important factors for public health. The aim of this study was to examine the association between social well-being and problematic school absence among Danish adolescents in the ninth grade, as well as to examine potential sex differences, using a large cohort of adolescents. Methods: In this cross-sectional study, information on social well-being was obtained from the yearly Danish National Well-being Questionnaire mandatory in compulsory school. Data on school absence was obtained from the Ministry of Children and Education. The study population comprised 203,570 adolescents in the school years 2014/2015 to 2019/2020. The association between social well-being and problematic school-absence was analysed using logistic regression. A stratified analysis was made to investigate potential sex differences. Results: A total of 17,555 (9.16%) adolescents had problematic school absence, defined as >10% illegal absence and/or sickness absence in the ninth grade. Adolescents with low social well-being had higher odds for having problematic school absence compared with adolescents with high social well-being, adjusted odds ratio=2.22 (95% confidence interval 2.10-2.34). When stratifying for sex, the association was strongest for girls. The results remained after adjustment for parents' educational level and family structure. Conclusions: Associations between adolescents' social well-being and problematic school absence were found, where girls had the strongest association. These findings might provide knowledge about social well-being as an important factor for problematic school absence, while underlining the importance of early focus and prevention, which is of importance for both the adolescents and society.
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... Many countries report high rates of school absenteeism (e.g., Akbaşlı et al., 2017;Gren-Landell, 2021). If schools are to provide every child with an education, school non-attendance needs to be counteracted and prevented (Thornton et al., 2013). ...
School absenteeism among students in Germany, Japan, Sweden, and the United Kingdom:: A comparative study using PISA data
Article
Full-text available
  • Apr 2023
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.
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... This may be due to the fact that the majority of the students were living in semi-urban areas (86.6%) and their fathers belonged to working-and manual-labor-class occupations, which may lead to adopting a less-concerned attitude or not making their child's school attendance a priority. Similar results were reported in a review published in 2013 where the authors found that children living in lower social classes were three times more likely to miss school than those in higher social groups [28]. The residence was also found to be significant with brushing time and sugary drink consumption. ...
The Association of Socioeconomic and Lifestyle Factors with the Oral Health Status in School-Age Children from Pakistan: A Cross-Sectional Study
Article
Full-text available
  • Mar 2023
The data on how lifestyle factors of school-going children affect their oral health are not sufficient; therefore, there is a need to analyze the adverse effects of poor lifestyle habits and the role of mothers’ education on oral health. The aim of this study was to analyze the association of socioeconomic and lifestyle factors with the oral health status of school-going children through a structured questionnaire and oral examination. Ninety-five (26.5%) children were from class 1. One hundred eighty-seven (52.1%) mothers were educated while 172 (47.9%) were uneducated. Two hundred seventy-six (76.9%) children had never visited the dentist. The results indicate that dental health behavior is associated with lifestyle factors as well as socio-demographic variables. Parent education and awareness regarding oral health plays a major role in determining the oral health of children.
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... With backgrounds in a broad spectrum of academic disciplines, including psychology, sociology, education and health, such reasons range from individual vulnerabilities and family dynamics to school conditions and peer relations. Some scholars link the issue to potential emotional deviations such as anxiety and depression (see for example, Ek & Eriksson, 2013;Hughes et al., 2010;Maynard et al., 2018), while others point to school absence as a symptom of conduct disorder and behavioural deviations (see for example Thornton et al., 2013). Another set of scholars point towards psychopathology among one or both parents or conflictual family dynamics and poor communication between child and parent(s) (Carless et al., 2015;Gren-Landell et al., 2015). ...
Becoming an Absent Student: Analysing the Complex Entanglements in Persistent School Absence
Article
Full-text available
  • Mar 2023
The article contributes to an understanding of persistent school absence as a complex social phenomenon with many different reasons. Drawing on the poststructuralist conceptualisation of subjectification processes, as well as new materialism’s emphasis on both human and non-human aspects of such processes, the article proposes an analytical strategy that can enable researchers to enter and unfold complex situations where a child is persistently absent from school. Drawing on a case of a young girl who is persistently absent from school, the article illustrates how such an analytical strategy can be applied. The case illustrates how multiple human and non-human aspects entangle in the enactment of social exclusion processes in a school class and the girl’s continuous marginalisation, eventually leading to her more deliberate decision to not attend school and her becoming an absent student subject.
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Exploring the forms of parental involvement for truancy control: a scoping review analysis with stakeholder consultation
Article
  • Jun 2024
Truancy is detrimental to children’s educational progress. Parents, being the first authority at home, share an equal responsibility with schools to thwart it. Unlike developed countries, many nations, e.g. India, have no legal actions or policies for truancy. A considerable gap in identifying any specific form of involvement from the parents undermines truancy control. In order to fulfil the research gap, authors conducted a scoping review and found 17 interrelating articles. Indicators from reviews were used to collect responses by interviewing 91 respondents, and overall results are presented. The PCC tool, PRISMA-ScR flowchart and SPSS V.20 aided in analysing the data. The findings indicated that volunteering and communication are adequate indicators of truancy control. Both indicators can significantly impact truancy prevention programmes, but the associated challenges in the study area require constant monitoring.
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The Professional Development Needs of Teachers with Responsibility for Pupil Attendance: A case study
Article
  • Jan 2005
  • J Serv Educ
This article focuses upon an evaluation of attendance issues within a local education authority (LEA) following two critical Office for Standards in Education (Ofsted) reports. After the publication of these reports, the contract and responsibility for managing schools, and the former LEA's remit, was awarded to a private company. As part of the company's external audit of ways to improve its attendance strategies within schools, the professional development needs of staff in schools and within the appropriate support services were assessed. Thereafter, a large number of continuing professional development (CPD) events were held that focused upon meeting the needs of schools, staff and the LEA in order to improve the management of attendance issues within the Borough. It is suggested that the evidence provided in this article probably represents the single largest amount of CPD activity ever undertaken within a single LEA on school attendance issues. All key staff have received appropriate training on fundamental attendance issues relating to truancy, as well as on how to implement short– and long-term strategic approaches to tackling truancy and raising attendance through innovative new schemes.
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Ordinary magic: Resilience process in development
Article
  • Mar 2001
  • AM PSYCHOL
The study of resilience in development has overturned many negative assumptions and deficit-focused models about children growing up under the threat of disadvantage and adversity. The most surprising conclusion emerging from studies of these children is the ordinariness of resilience. An examination of converging findings from variable-focused and person-focused investigations of these phenomena suggests that resilience is common and that it usually arises from the normative functions of human adaptational systems, with the greatest threats to human development being those that compromise these protective systems. The conclusion that resilience is made of ordinary rather than extraordinary processes offers a more positive outlook on human development and adaptation, as well as direction for policy and practice aimed at enhancing the development of children at risk for problems and psychopathology. The study of resilience in development has overturned many negative assumptions and deficit-focused models about children growing up under the threat of disadvantage and adversity.
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Absenteeism and Truancy: Risk, Protection, and Best Practice Implications for School Social Workers
Article
  • Apr 2004
The author discusses the context in which absenteeism and truancy occur through an analysis of risk and protective mechanisms and suggests best practice methods based on a review of literature and research on several successful absenteeism and truancy prevention and reduction programs. The author suggests ways that school social workers can participate in truancy prevention and reduction projects through collaborative efforts with other school professionals, community organizations, social services agencies, parents, and school children.
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Protective Factors for Inner-City Adolescents at Risk of School Dropout: Family Factors and Social Support
Article
  • Oct 2004
This study compared adolescents on a continuum of risk of school dropout: adolescents in the mainstream program (low risk); in an at-risk program (medium risk); and in an alternative evening program for dropouts (high risk). The researcher wanted to determine what factors predict school dropout, with particular attention given to family and social support variables. School dropout was measured by proxy, using group membership as an indirect indicator of risk. A discriminant function analysis was performed. Results indicated that family cohesion, adult support, and peer support were predictors of group membership. The model greatly increased correct prediction of membership in each group over that of chance.
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School Characteristics Related to Student Engagement
Article
  • Jul 1993
The abstract for this document is available on CSA Illumina.To view the Abstract, click the Abstract button above the document title.
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