Annotation Kearney, a clinical child psychologist at the U. of Nevada, Las Vegas, has written his book mainly with the school psychologist in mind. The problem of school refusal is put into a context in initial chapters which give an overview of the historical literature on school refusal behavior and describe the characteristics of these youth, while also critiquing the classification strategies employed. After introducing a functional model, Kearney summarizes treatment strategies and discusses methods for prevention as well as the reality of extreme cases. Annotation c. Book News, Inc., Portland, OR (booknews.com).

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.

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.

Handbook of Student Engagement Interventions: Working with Disengaged Students provides an understanding of the factors that contribute to student disengagement, methods for identifying students at risk, and intervention strategies to increase student engagement. With a focus on translating research into best practice, the book pulls together the current research on engagement in schools and empowers readers to craft and implement interventions. Users will find reviews on evidence-based academic, behavioral, social, mental health, and community-based interventions that will help increase all types of engagement. The book looks at ways of reducing suspensions through alternative disciplinary practices, the role resiliency can play in student engagement, strategies for community and school collaborations in addressing barriers to engagement, and what can be learned from students who struggled in school, but succeeded later in life. It is a hands-on resource for educators, school psychologists, researchers, and students looking to gain insight into the research on this topic and the strategies that can be deployed to promote student engagement. - Presents practical strategies for engagement intervention and assessment - Covers early warning signs of disengagement and how to use these signs to promote engagement - Reviews contextual factors (families, peers, teachers) related to engagement - Focuses on increasing engagement and school completion for all students - Emphasizes multidimensional approaches to disengagement