School absenteeism is a pervasive and difficult problem faced by mental health and school-based professionals. Even in mild forms, school absenteeism has been shown to be a significant risk factor for social, behavioral, and academic problems in middle childhood and adolescence, as well as psychiatric, economic, and occupational difficulties in adulthood. Problematic absenteeism has been examined for decades by professionals of many different disciplines, leading to a considerably fractured literature. Managing School Absenteeism at Multiple Tiers provides an integrative strategy for preventing, assessing, and addressing cases of youth with school absenteeism at multiple levels of severity and complexity. Dr. Christopher Kearney presents a multi-tiered framework based on prevention (Tier 1), early intervention for emerging cases (Tier 2), and more extensive intervention and systemic strategies for severe cases (Tier 3). Each tier is based on empirically supported strategies from the literature, and emphasis is placed on specific, implementable recommendations. This approach is based on a Response to Intervention model that has emerged as a powerful guide to prevention, assessment, and treatment of social and academic problems in schools. Response to Intervention is based upon tenets that parallel developments in the school absenteeism literature: (1) a proactive focus on early identification of learning and behavior problems and immediate, effective intervention, (2) universal, targeted, and intensive interventions, (3) frequent progress monitoring, (4) functional behavioral assessment, (5) empirically supported treatment procedures and protocols to reduce obstacles to academic achievement (including absenteeism), and (6) a team-based approach for implementation. This user-friendly, practical guide will be useful to mental health professionals, school administrators, guidance counselors, social workers and psychologists, as well as others who address kids with problematic absenteeism such as pediatricians and probation officers.

School absenteeism is a pervasive and difficult problem faced by mental health and school-based professionals. Even in mild forms, school absenteeism has been shown to be a significant risk factor for social, behavioral, and academic problems in middle childhood and adolescence, as well as psychiatric, economic, and occupational difficulties in adulthood. Problematic absenteeism has been examined for decades by professionals of many different disciplines, leading to a considerably fractured literature. Managing School Absenteeism at Multiple Tiers provides an integrative strategy for preventing, assessing, and addressing cases of youth with school absenteeism at multiple levels of severity and complexity. Dr. Christopher Kearney presents a multi-tiered framework based on prevention (Tier 1), early intervention for emerging cases (Tier 2), and more extensive intervention and systemic strategies for severe cases (Tier 3). Each tier is based on empirically supported strategies from the literature, and emphasis is placed on specific, implementable recommendations. This approach is based on a Response to Intervention model that has emerged as a powerful guide to prevention, assessment, and treatment of social and academic problems in schools. Response to Intervention is based upon tenets that parallel developments in the school absenteeism literature: (1) a proactive focus on early identification of learning and behavior problems and immediate, effective intervention, (2) universal, targeted, and intensive interventions, (3) frequent progress monitoring, (4) functional behavioral assessment, (5) empirically supported treatment procedures and protocols to reduce obstacles to academic achievement (including absenteeism), and (6) a team-based approach for implementation. This user-friendly, practical guide will be useful to mental health professionals, school administrators, guidance counselors, social workers and psychologists, as well as others who address kids with problematic absenteeism such as pediatricians and probation officers.

This Research Topic on Unlearning Attendance champions a serious look at school attendance and absenteeism. It examines all forms of school attendance problems ranging from school refusal, truancy, school withdrawal, to school avoidance and its correlates of criminal, socio-emotional, developmental, psychological, academic, fiscal, technological, and societal impact. The issue gives a synopsis on the known problems and challenges but also those exacerbated by the pandemic and ideas for improvement.

In Absent from School, Gottfried and Hutt offer a comprehensive and timely resource for educators and policy makers seeking to understand the scope, impact, and causes of chronic student absenteeism. The editors present a series of studies by leading researchers from a variety of disciplines that address which students are missing school and why, what roles schools themselves play in contributing to or offsetting patterns of absenteeism, and ways to assess student attendance for purposes of school accountability. The contributors examine school-based initiatives that focus on a range of issues, including transportation, student health, discipline policies, and protections for immigrant students, as well as interventions intended to improve student attendance. Only in the past two or three years has chronic absenteeism become the focus of attention among policy makers, civil rights advocates, and educators. Absent from School provides the first critical, systematic look at research that can inform and guide those who are working to ensure that every child is in school and learning every day.

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.