School absenteeism and academic achievement: Does the reason for absence matter?
Principal Investigator(s): View help for Principal Investigator(s) Markus Klein, University of Strathclyde; Edward Sosu, University of Strathclyde
Version: View help for Version V1
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Project Citation:
Klein, Markus, and Sosu, Edward. School absenteeism and academic achievement: Does the reason for absence matter? Ann Arbor, MI: Inter-university Consortium for Political and Social Research [distributor], 2021-12-15. https://doi.org/10.3886/E157401V1
Project Description
Summary:
View help for Summary
Studies consistently show associations
between school absences and academic achievement. However, questions remain about
whether this link depends on the reason for children’s absence. Using a sample
of the Scottish Longitudinal Study (n = 4,419), we investigated whether the association between school absenteeism
and achievement in high-stakes exams at the end of compulsory and
post-compulsory schooling varies with the reason for absence. In line with previous research, our findings show
that overall absences are negatively associated with academic achievement at
both school stages. Likewise, all forms of absences (truancy, sickness absence,
exceptional domestic circumstances, family holidays) are negatively associated
with achievement at the end of compulsory and post-compulsory schooling. First
difference regressions confirm these negative associations, except for family
holidays. These results suggest that, in addition to lost instruction, other mechanisms
such as behavioral, health-related, and psychosocial pathways may account for
the association between absenteeism and achievement. The findings have
implications for designing tailored absenteeism interventions to improve pupils’
academic achievement.
Funding Sources:
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Economic and Social Research Council (United Kingdom) (ES/R004943/1)
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