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To Attend or Not to Attend: Why Some Children Attend Schools and
Others Don’t
Professor John Dwyfor Davies
&
John Lee
Reader in Education
University of the West of England
Bristol
Present position 1
High on government’s agenda High on education agenda of many states
‘Non attendance is a national issue and not just confined to areas of disadvantage’. It goes on to state that ‘At post primary level, students miss an average of 15 days each out of 167 (9%) (NEWB, Every Day Counts, Strategic Plan) (2005) (p.6)
Present position 2
Substantial resources provided (Denny,K. (2004)
Many new initiatives introduced More pupils truant (New
Philanthropic Society, 2005)
Not unique to Britain:
The National Educational Welfare Board here in Ireland in its Strategic Plan (2005) confirms that ‘Non attendance is a national issue and not just confined to areas of disadvantage’. It goes on to state that ‘At post primary level, students miss an average of 15 days each out of 167 (9%) (p.6)
Emphasis to-date
Much is known about why pupils choose to truant
Few of the initiatives to combat the problem adopt a comprehensive approach
Less work done on evaluation or efficacy of intervention initiatives
Too little work into ‘what works’
Within-home causal factors Poverty Parental lack of appreciation for value of
education Parents themselves were truants Family instability (parental discord, poor parent-
child relationships, frequent moving) Child abuse or neglect Substance abuse; alcoholic parents Parental convenience (babysitting etc.) Lack of parental supervision/guidance
Within-school causal factors
Inadequate early identification & support ‘boring’ curriculum (Nardi et al, 2002) Curriculum seen to lacks relevance to
present or future life Teaching methods discourage
cooperation
Some school factors
Failure to identify and provide services for ‘problem’ pupils
Poor pupil-teacher relationship High student/teacher ration Low teacher expectation Lack of parental/school communication and
involvement Too weak or too rigid administrative policies
In short
Parents & pupils blame the schools – bullying, problems with teachers, peer-pressure
LEAs & teachers blame the parents – attitudes to school, home environment etc. (Malcolm et al, 2003)
Non-attenders in Bristol SchoolsStudents
Student sample: Identified by EWOs & attendance officersInterview process: ‘paired-pal’ interviews Informal, semi-structured interview Description of school careers provided School staff and EWOs interviewed Parents interviewed at home
Student characteristics Tended not to come from families within which
there is a history of non-attendance.
Articulate
Able to argue logically and present a case
Reticent and quiet
Reasons provided by students
Bullying Student/teacher relationships Curriculum – not seen as a big
problem by many Inability to engage with a large
organisation – and teachers Illness Transitions and transfers
Reasons provided by students - relationships They see the quality of personal relationships at school primarily
in terms of relationships with staff, rather than the subjects individuals teach.
They identify the quality of relationships with staff in terms of what they see as ‘mutual respect’ and being treated in an ‘adult fashion’.
They perceive teaching as an individual, rather than a group activity and see teaching as explanation rather than instruction.
The male students reported that relationship problems were mainly with the staff of schools (as opposed to peers).
Peer relationships are more significant for female students.
Parental perspectives (general)
No evidence of an anti-school/ education culture in the home
The majority of parents wanted their children to attend school and felt they themselves had been deprived of education.
Similar views to students re. significance of student/teacher relationships
Parental perspectives (2)
Poor home/school communication systems School seen as arrogant towards parents and
students. Education Welfare Service not seen as a major
source of support. Learning mentors, Connexions personnel,
alternative providers and individual EWOs identified as helpful.
Senior Manager
Curriculum too rigidly and narrowly defined More local control of its content is needed. Close relationships needed between F.E. and
school for many 14+ students Local circumstances means employment is
easy to find - school seen as irrelevant Points of transition are triggers to non-
attendance
Senior Manager (2)
LEA policy is needed, to stop non-attenders transferring between schools
Funding alternative provision is a resource problem because funding follows pupils
Curriculum content is inappropriate Positive rewards for attendance needed Problems with relationships often used as an
excuse for non-attendance
EWOs – new to the service
The law needs to be tightened up on attendance (newer officers).
The deterrents to non-attendance should be publicised more effectively (newer officers).
EWOs – with longer service
Those who had been longer in the service identify welfare work as important and significant.
There should be more surveillance to locate truants – and to prevent it initially.
Older EWOs see their role as that of acting as a go-between between school and parents.
They also believe that they act as an advocate on behalf of the truanting students and the parents (older officers)
Phase 2 – Selection criteria
Years 9 and 10 students students who are: entered for the lowed tier in GCSE
mathematics. in the lowest sets of for English and
Science not those identified as having SEN likely to attend part-time FE provision Regular school attenders
Phase 2 – Methods
Interviewed in pairs or in small groups Students from 2 schools in very different
communities were selected 18 students in school A (8 girls and 10
boys) interviewed 17 students in school B (5 girls and 12
boys)
Early responses
There was a remarkable similarity in the views of both sets of students and these tended to fall into a set of themes
Early findings School provides a social space School provides a safe place Good teacher/pupil relationship Teaches things of value Curriculum needs to include academic & vocational
elements Curriculum needs to relate to world of work Teaches you a work ethic Without it there would be problems School structure seen as helpful
Priorities 1 Professionals & policymakers need to
engage with the pupil voice Need to create opportunities for students
to review and communicate their views on their educational context
Professionals & policy makers need to be willing to act on these views
Priorities 2 Schools need to be supported in ensuring that
they provide a safe environment Professional development needs to focus on
the ‘softer’ skills to ensure that relationships across the school are positive
consideration must be given to the nature of the nature and content of the curriculum and assessment
Possible futures
Closer, systematic identification of ‘at risk’ pupils in EY& primary
Increase school & parent awareness of importance of school attendance
Schools better resourced to address absenteeism from early stages
Better evaluation of experimental initiatives
Possible futuresSchool features
Schools need to be student and parent centred
Pupils viewed as active, participative learners
Better differentiation High quality vocational education Full recognition of student achievement
e.g ASDAN Aim to achieve parity and esteem for vocational
course & qualifications Partnership school/F.E/industry & commerce
Government strategy
Many strategies are ‘reactive’ & untested
Too short-termed & under funded Need to disseminate proven ‘good
practice’ Appropriately funding for key
initiatives – over extended period
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