Background: Depression in young people may lead to reduced school attendance through social withdrawal, loss of motivation, sleep disturbance and low energy. We systematically reviewed the evidence for an association between depression and poor school attendance.Methods: Seven electronic databases were searched for quantitative studies with school-aged children and/or adolescents, reporting a measure of association between depression and school attendance. Articles were independently screened by two reviewers. Synthesis incorporated random-effects meta-analysis and narrative synthesis.Results: Searches identified 4930 articles. Nineteen studies from eight countries across North America, Europe, and Asia, were included. School attendance was grouped into: 1) absenteeism (i.e. total absences), 2) excused/medical absences, 3) unexcused absences/truancy, and 4) school refusal.Meta-analyses demonstrated small-to-moderate positive cross-sectional associations between depression and absenteeism (correlation coefficient r=0.11, 95% confidence interval 0.07 to 0.15, p=0.005, I 2 = 63%); and depression and unexcused absences/truancy (r=0.15, 95% confidence interval 0.13 to 0.17, p<0.001, I 2 =4%; odds ratio=3.74, 95% confidence interval 2.11 to 6.60, p<0.001, I 2 =65%). Few studies reported associations with school refusal or excused/medical absences, and few utilised longitudinal data, although results from two studies suggested an association between depression and subsequent absenteeism.Limitations: Study quality was poor overall, and methodological heterogeneity, despite creating a broad evidence-base, restricted meta-analysis to only small subsamples of studies.Conclusions: Findings suggest associations between depression and poor school attendance, particularly absenteeism and unexcused absences/truancy. Clinicians and school staff should be alert to the possibility of depression in children and adolescents with poor attendance. Future research should utilise longitudinal data to confirm the direction of the association, investigate associations with excused absences, and test potential moderators of the relationship.

Background Anxiety may be associated with poor attendance at school, which can lead to a range of adverse outcomes. We systematically reviewed the evidence for an association between anxiety and poor school attendance. Methods Seven electronic databases were searched for quantitative studies that reported an estimate of association between anxiety and school attendance. Anxiety had to be assessed via standardised diagnostic measure or validated scale. Articles were screened independently by two reviewers. Meta‐analyses were performed where possible, otherwise results were synthesised narratively. Results A total of 4930 articles were screened. Eleven studies from six countries across North America, Europe and Asia, were included. School attendance was categorised into: (a) absenteeism (i.e. total absences), (b) excused/medical absences, (c) unexcused absences/truancy and (d) school refusal. Findings from eight studies suggested associations between truancy and any anxiety disorder, as well as social and generalised anxiety. Results also suggested cross‐sectional associations between school refusal and separation, generalised and social anxiety disorders, as well as simple phobia. Few studies investigated associations with absenteeism or excused/medical absences. Conclusions Findings suggest associations between anxiety and unexcused absences/truancy, and school refusal. Clinicians should consider the possibility of anxiety in children and adolescents with poor attendance. However, there is a lack of high quality evidence, little longitudinal research and limited evidence relating to overall absenteeism or excused/medical absences, despite the latter being the most common type of absence. These gaps should be a key priority for future research.

The version presented here may differ from the published version. If citing, you are advised to consult the published version for pagination, volume/issue and date of publication 1 What are Inclusive Pedagogies in Higher Education? A Systematic Scoping Review Abstract 'Inclusive pedagogies' have been recommended as an approach for addressing increased student diversity in the university classroom. However, to date, no research has sought to map the field of inclusive pedagogies in higher education (HE) to establish how researchers have conceptualised and investigated this phenomenon. In this systematic scoping review, 5 databases were searched for literature published on the topic of inclusive pedagogies in HE. The findings suggest that HE researchers do not share a common understanding of inclusive pedagogies. We argue that inconsistency and fragmentation in perceptions of inclusive pedagogies is the result of inclusion itself being a philosophically contested matter; and that this needs to be reflected in the way that inclusive pedagogies are discussed in HE -even if this goes against current performative and marketdriven trends that emphasise quick fixes over acknowledging the complexity of pedagogic issues.

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Inclusion is seen as an ethical obligation, grounded in notions of equity and social justice for all groups and at all stages of education, with higher education (HE) representing a distinctive space where the inclusion agenda is becoming more influential. However, inclusion is also increasingly recognised as an ambiguous concept that might have lost its critical edge and is in many cases reduced to 'chatter'. To explore inclusion in this context, we analysed 48 policy documents from the websites of the 24 Russell Group Universities (the 'elite', research-intensive, UK universities) using a critical discourse analysis approach. We found that inclusion was rarely defined clearly, and that tensions, complexity and pedagogical implications of inclusion were not discussed. Inclusion was also related to excellence and ideas about a 'global university' that are central to a university's reputation and ability to attract international students and staff. We see three ways in which these findings are significant: the way inclusion was approached in the policy documents could largely be described as managerial/legalistic, seen as the responsibility of human resources; inclusion was perceived as an act of legal compliance that was also expected to influence everyday relationships -but without an explanation of