Dive Brief:
- Early elementary school teachers feel less connected to chronically absent students, and evidence suggests this disconnect can put absentee students at a "double disadvantage" in their schooling, according to a study published Tuesday by AERA Open, a peer-reviewed journal of the American Educational Research Association.
- K-2 teachers reported viewing chronically absent students as more withdrawn and having worse interpersonal skills, the study found. Teachers also perceived chronically absent students as having fewer positive learning behaviors and as being less proficient in literacy and math, even if this was not true.
- As schools continue to grapple with high absenteeism rates years after COVID-19 disrupted the regular pattern of school attendance, the study's authors recommend that schools provide teachers with professional development and time for self-reflection on how they form opinions about absent students.
Dive Insight:
Student-teacher relationships were weakened by teacher's perceptions that absentee students display more "internalizing behaviors," such as being withdrawn, but not by externalizing behaviors, such as acting out, the study said. That being the case, the study's authors recommend that schools focus on building connections in the classroom rather than concentrating on teaching strategies to manage behaviors.
“One stereotype about absent students is that they are ‘troublemakers’ when they are back in the classroom, but we don’t find that to be the case at all,” said Michael Gottfried, a professor at the University of Pennsylvania Graduate School of Education, in a statement. Gottfried co-wrote the study along with Phil Kim, a doctoral student at the University of Pennsylvania, and Tina Fletcher, a senior official at the Walton Family Foundation.
The study also recommends that teachers get professional development, support and resources in best practices for connecting with parents in efforts to improve student attendance and ways teachers can better understand family circumstances that influence attendance.
Positive teacher perceptions of students are important to a young child's development, the study said. Previous research mentioned in the study found that a teacher’s perception of a student’s behavior influenced how other students viewed that student, which can then impact social successes or struggles for the student.
This week's study used nationally representative data from the the Early Childhood Longitudinal Study, Kindergarten Class of 2010-11, which included 14,370 students in grades K-2. The data came from direct assessments of children, parent interviews, and teacher and administrator questionnaires. Students categorized as chronically absent missed at least 11 days of school during the school year.
A recent Annie E. Casey Foundation analysis found that the percentage of chronically absent students nationwide during the 2021-22 school year almost doubled compared to pre-pandemic rates. The analysis also said children's adverse childhood experiences — such as family economic hardship, divorce or incarceration — are major barriers to student success.
In May, educators attending a White House-sponsored event on school attendance highlighted strategies such as individualized interventions and data analysis for combating chronic absenteeism.
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