This new book on school attendance and behaviour brings an international flavour to the field, with contributions on some of the latest empirical research and thinking from around the world. It includes contributions from Canada and the USA, Hong Kong, Europe, the United Kingdom and Ireland. Some of the interesting, wide-ranging, and often unique topics covered in the book include: truancy and well-being, disaffection, pupil absenteeism, social mediation, aggression in primary schools, bullying, emotional barriers to learning, behaviour management training, exclusion, reintegration, the role of educational psychologists, and ethnic diversity and classroom disruption in the context of migration policies. The book should prove both helpful and useful for a wide range of professionals, students, and academics, across a wide range of educational, care, and social policy disciplines. This book was originally published as a special issue of Educational Studies.

Teachers and governments all agree that if you wish to raise educational standards then it’s imperative to improve school attendance, and yet an average of around ten per cent of secondary pupils are missing school on a daily basis. Despite governments around the globe trying to address this situation, any improvements have been negligible and improvements in school attendance have been stubbornly hard to achieve. As an internationally recognised expert on this topic, Professor Ken Reid offers workable, practical solutions to help schools improve attendance and to reduce non-attendance and truancy at government level, school and local authority level, individual pupil level and at the family level. Underpinned by the very latest research, but expanded upon with an accessible, practitioner focus, the issues covered by this topical text include: The causes of non-attendance and truancy Successful interventions and the evidence from research Reflections on the attempts to find national solutions Implementing home-school solutions An agenda for the future Supporting throughout with case-studies and workable solutions to the most demanding of situations, this book will be essential reading for head teachers, deputy head teachers, teachers and any educational professional eager to raise standards for all.

In this engaging book Professor Ken Reid focuses on the needs of school professionals and leaders, providing them with workable, achievable solutions to radically reducing their truancy rates. As well as discussing the importance of regular attendance and the importance of sound leadership, Professor Reid provides: A highly effective whole school strategy for use in both primary and secondary schools Checklists on good practice Early intervention strategies Advice on using attendance panels Guidance on effective monitoring schemes Supporting throughout with case-studies, sample letters, reports, attendance calendars and action plans, this book will be an essential staff-room resource for head teachers, deputy head teachers, teachers and any educational professional eager to raise standards for all.

"For students to be successful in school, they first have to be in school." With that simple statement, Jessica Sprick and Randy Sprick launch a compelling case for prioritizing student attendance. This comprehensive guide provides school and district-level administrators and teams with the background information, strategies, and tools needed to implement a multitiered approach to improving attendance and preventing chronic absence. The authors use the results of their work in schools throughout the United States to dispel the myth that educators have little control over student attendance and provide success stories from elementary and secondary schools that have reversed longstanding patterns of absenteeism. Citing extensive research, Sprick and Sprick share details about the shocking prevalence of chronic absence in U.S. schools and its effects on students, teachers, families, and the school community. They explain how to replace punitive approaches to absenteeism with effective methods that begin with universal supports and continue through Tier 2 and Tier 3 interventions for students with more persistent problems. Specifically, they explain how to Build an effective school team to address absenteeism . Create systems to collect accurate data and set priorities. Develop an attendance initiative that generates student enthusiasm as well as staff, parent, and community support. Design and implement strategies that are tailored to specific schoolwide concerns and demographics that reach all students. Equipped with the information and tools presented in this book, educators can ensure wise use of staff and other resources—and create a culture of attendance that is the foundation of successful schools. This book is a copublication of ASCD and Ancora Publishing.

Behaviour remains a huge issue of concern at all levels of education. This book draws together research and practice to uncover the complexities of improving behaviour and attendance in school and offers a range of practical solutions aimed at tackling behavioural issues and its prevention for schools, teachers, non-teaching staff, and those working to support them in Local Authorities. It considers current concerns relating to the behaviour of children and young people, the theoretical underpinnings of possible approaches to improving behaviour and attendance, as well as what we know about the causes of disaffection. In exploring ways that behaviour and attendance can be improved, the authors examine a range of perspectives including school management and whole school policies, and behaviour in and around the school, in the classroom, and of individual pupils, particularly those at risk of exclusion from school. It discusses the work of Behaviour and Educational Support Teams, teacher coaches, learning mentors and nurture groups as ways of supporting children and young people, particularly those identified as being 'at risk'. It also outlines ways of improving relationships between the school and home, as well as the ways that parents can be supported to assist in changing their children's behaviour and attendance. Alternatives to exclusion and new curricula are discussed in relation to their success in maintaining students in education. The final chapters focus on attendance and what can be done to improve it in the general school population and those students who are persistent absentees. Throughout the book case studies are used to illustrate examples of good practice and the impact on children, parents and teachers. The book concludes with an overview of key issues emerging for practice.

Students can succeed in school—but they must be in school to do so. Addressing absenteeism is as important as addressing problematic behavior and academic difficulties in the classroom. To address the pervasive issue of chronic absenteeism—that is, missing 10 percent of school days for any reason—educators must begin to move away from a model of reliance on reactive and punitive approaches and toward one that is preventive and positive, and that uses proven principles of behavioral change. Teacher’s Guide to Tackling Attendance Challenges, by nationally known educators Jessica Sprick and Tricia Berg, provides teachers with the information and resources they need to build a strong classroom-based initiative to improve the attendance of all students, creating a classroom culture of attendance with easy-to-implement strategies. Sprick and Berg provide concrete and practical strategies for teachers to implement in their own classrooms to address chronic absence and improve the attendance of all students, including: A framework for implementation Sample lesson plans Examples and reproducibles for reinforcement systems Talking points for use with students and families Real-world examples of successful classroom-based approaches Handouts for parents on establishing routines, dealing with technology and more When teachers apply the easy-to-implement and minimally invasive presented, they will see significant improvements in student attendance. This book is a copublication of ASCD and Ancora Publishing.