“No One Really Likes Crying in School”: The Influences of Classroom and Institutional Dynamics Upon Student Absenteeism During COVID-19

Abstract

The COVID-19 pandemic has worsened the already problematic issue of student absenteeism. This study uniquely employs an ecological agency approach to better understand student absenteeism during COVID-19. Using a case study methodology, the study captures the experiences of two absentee students within a United States suburban high school during the 2020-2021 school year to better understand the institutional structures motivating their daily decision to attend or miss school. In the remote learning environment, rigorous curricular expectations, minimal social interactions, teacher-led instruction as a response to student disengagement from student-led instruction, and lower teacher expectations contributed to the participants' daily decision to miss school. In the remote, hybrid, and full-time inperson learning spaces, staff apathy toward bullying, minimal space to escape feelings of anxiety, and fewer tutoring outlets motivated student absenteeism. Therefore, the school environment can better promote attendance during COVID-19 by establishing an in-school space to escape heightened anxiety, academic supports to reduce gradeinduced anxiety, shifting from nonintervention to prosocial instructional interventions in all learning environments, teacher voices in policy design, reducing teacher-led instruction, and shifting teacher beliefs to an asset mindset. Recommendations for future research are included. 76 Kipp Continuity in Education

Qualitative Study Examining Attendance for Secondary School Pupils With Long-Term Physical Health Conditions

“…Far from promoting attendance, these led to a sense of blame or shame increasing psychological or social pressure. These findings lend support to the evidence base showing that punitive actions are ineffective in tackling absenteeism ( Kearney et al, 2022 ; Kipp, 2022 ).…”

“…The findings provide significant rich detail about the complexity of young people’s attendance, adding to the existing discourse positioning absence in different ways. Absence may be considered a choice that CYP control or alternatively as a signal to identify underlying causes from which intervention can be targeted ( Halligan & Cryer, 2022 ; Kipp, 2022 ). In some cases, our participants chose to attend school despite not feeling well enough, which resulted in worsened physical and mental health.…”

“…If CYP are not in school, and part of the school community, they can miss consequent health and well-being benefits. Absence from school is linked to increased risks to child welfare, mental health, criminality, depression, violence, and adult unemployment ( The Centre for Social Justice 2023 ; Department for Education, 2022 ; Heyne & Brouwer-Borghuis, 2022 ; Kipp, 2022 ).…”

“…Studies have variously examined different theoretical frameworks and approaches designed to redress low attendance. These include those positioning absence as a condition within a pupil’s control, those seeking to change pupil behaviour, foster well-being, and promote school sense of belonging, and those seeking to tackle the emotional factors contributing to school absence ( Baskerville, 2022 ; Halligan & Cryer, 2022 ; Kearney et al, 2022 ; Kipp, 2022 ). On-the-ground school practices include using incentives to enhance attendance but with varied levels of success ( Balu & Ehrlich, 2018 ) and punitive measures involving the use of discipline, exclusion, and legal interventions for attendance ( Department for Education, 2022 ).…”

School attendance problems and absenteeism as early warning signals: review and implications for health-based protocols and school-based practices

“…These deficits became especially pronounced during the COVID-19 pandemic as absenteeism rates spiked (Kuhfeld et al, 2020). Many of these effects are expected to last several years, disproportionately affect vulnerable students, and intersect with variables such as teacher disengagement, lower academic expectations, and less access to academic supports (Howard-Jones et al, 2022;Kipp, 2022).…”