Family background and educational attainment: An investigation into the mediating role of school absenteeism

Significant social inequalities in educational attainment are well-established in Scotland and elsewhere. Closing the poverty-related attainment gap has therefore been identified as the key priority in Scottish education policy. The literature on the mechanisms underpinning socio-economic differences in educational attainment has not yet seriously considered school absenteeism. Yet missing out frequently from school may hinder children's ability to develop to their full academic potential and may therefore be detrimental not only for individuals' life courses but also for Scotland's economy and society. Investigating the prevalence, determinants and consequences of school absenteeism in Scottish schools is therefore an essential requirement for evidence-based changes in policy and practice.
This project aims to investigate whether differences in school attendance account for social inequalities in educational attainment and post-school destinations among pupils in Scotland. Due to differences in health-related behaviour, residential and school mobility, family structure and environment, and parental employment characteristics, children from lower socio-economic backgrounds may be more frequently absent from school than children from higher socio-economic backgrounds. In turn, missing out on important parts of the curriculum due to lower attendance, truancy, or exclusion may result in lower performance in school exams, decreased likelihood of continuing school after the compulsory schooling age, and lowering the likelihood of progressing to higher education. In addition, we will investigate whether school absenteeism is more detrimental to pupils from lower socio-economic backgrounds than to pupils from higher socio-economic backgrounds. Our results will have important implications for policy and practice.
The secondary data analysis will make use of the unique Scottish Longitudinal Study (SLS) which links Census data in 2001 and 2011 with administrative School Census and Scottish Qualificational Authority (SQA) data. The SLS is a large-scale, anonymised linkage study designed to capture 5.3% of the Scottish population based on 20 semi-random birthdates. These large-scale administrative data are unique in providing detailed and accurate information on family background, school attendance and school attainment among secondary pupils in Scotland. The use of administrative data on school attendance is advantageous as it provides more reliable data than survey information.
Our study is the first of its kind to explore whether, and to what extent, school absenteeism explains socio-economic differences in school performance and post-school destinations among secondary school students. It will provide novel and comprehensive understanding of whether the type of school absenteeism, such as truancy, exclusion or legitimate absence matters. Finally, it will shed light on whether absenteeism is particularly detrimental for children from lower socio-economic backgrounds.

We will achieve impact across varied channels, events, and through close co-operation with two non-academic organisations, the Poverty Alliance and GTCS (General Teaching Council Scotland) who have indicated their support for our project. The prevalence of school absenteeism means that findings from the study will benefit a wide range of individuals within the UK and internationally. We anticipate the current research may have significant benefits in terms of improving the life chances of children and adolescents and societal and economic benefits that go beyond the individual level. Improving educational outcomes via increasing school attendance for children from low income households should result in greater labour market prospects. This may help to break the cycle of poverty and lead to these children making greater contributions to productivity and taxation which should boost the economic growth in the UK. Improved educational outcomes may also lead to improvement in health and other wellbeing indicators contributing to the government's ambition of making Scotland a healthier and wealthier country.
Direct beneficiaries will include practitioners such as teachers, early childhood practitioners, educational and child psychologists, social workers, criminologists who work directly with children as well as students training to enter these professions. The findings from the study will give them clarity on whether school absenteeism is socially stratified and leads to poor educational outcomes and therefore direction on what to address in order to improve learning for children facing economic adversity. In cooperation with the GTCS, teachers and early childhood practitioners will be encouraged to incorporate knowledge from the study into school policies with the aim of reducing the negative consequences of absenteeism, and to assist parents whose children may be at high risk of being frequently absent from school. Other direct beneficiaries include voluntary organisations (e.g. Poverty Alliance) who work with children in poverty and combat school absenteeism. In the long term, it is anticipated that the findings will be the basis for developing policies and interventions that help schools and teachers to increase school attendance among target groups at risk of being frequently absent from school.
Policy makers in Scotland will also benefit directly from the study. It is anticipated that the Scottish government will use the findings as robust empirical evidence on the role of different forms of school absenteeism in explaining social inequalities in educational attainment. Closing the attainment gap is the key priority of current Scottish education policy. If evidence from this study suggests that absenteeism resulting from economic difficulties is a key mediator of educational outcomes then targeted interventions to reduce absenteeism should contribute to improve outcomes and reduce the poverty-related attainment gap. Apart from the Scottish government, the findings will be useful to policy makers throughout the UK and worldwide due to the similarity of aspirations in terms of achieving quality and equity in educational systems.