Family background and educational attainment: An investigation into the mediating role of school absenteeism
Lead Research Organisation:
University of Strathclyde
Department Name: Education
Abstract
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.
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.
Planned Impact
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.
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.
Publications
Giménez-Miralles M
(2023)
School Attendance Problems in Scotland and Spain: Variations in Recording, Reporting, and Using Data
in ORBIS SCHOLAE
Klein M
(2020)
Mapping inequalities in school attendance: The relationship between dimensions of socioeconomic status and forms of school absence
in Children and Youth Services Review
Klein M
(2024)
School absences, academic achievement, and adolescents' post-school destinations
in Oxford Review of Education
Klein M
(2023)
School Attendance and Academic Achievement: Understanding Variation across Family Socioeconomic Status
in Sociology of Education
Klein M
(2022)
School Absenteeism and Academic Achievement: Does the Reason for Absence Matter?
in AERA Open
Sosu E
(2021)
Socioeconomic status and school absenteeism: A systematic review and narrative synthesis
in Review of Education
Description | This project aims to examine the role of school absenteeism for socioeconomic inequalities in educational attainment using linked Census and administrative school records in Scotland (Scottish Longitudinal Study). In the first study (published in Children and Youth Services Review), we investigated the association between different dimensions of socioeconomic background (parental education, parental class, free school meal registration, housing tenure and neighbourhood deprivation) and forms of school absenteeism (overall, truancy, sickness, family holidays, temporary exclusion). We found that all dimensions of socioeconomic background were uniquely linked to overall absenteeism. Pupils from more deprived areas, living in socially rented housing, coming from households with lower levels of parental education and social class, and registered for free school meals were more frequently absent from school than their peers from more advantaged backgrounds. Pupils from socially rented households and households with no qualifications were the most likely to be absent from school. Further analyses revealed that there were socioeconomic inequalities in specific forms of absenteeism (truancy, sickness and temporary exclusion). We found that living in socially rented housing, and having parents with lower qualifications had the most pervasive effect on all forms of absenteeism. Our analysis also showed that girls were more frequently absent than boys and that those in urban areas had higher levels of overall absenteeism than those living in rural areas. However, we did not find that socioeconomic differences in school absenteeism were more or less pronounced between girls and boys or people living in urban or rural areas. In a follow-up study (published as research brief), we found that socioeconomic inequalities in school absenteeism were higher after the first round of Covid-19 school closures than in previous years. Surprisingly, we did not only see rising disparities due to Covid-19-related reasons but also due to reasons that are unrelated due to Covid-19. While students from the most deprived areas had higher levels of school absenteeism than in previous years, students from the least deprived areas had lower levels of school absenteeism. The rise in socioeconomic inequality in non-Covid-19-related absenteeism was not only due to higher absence rates among students from the most deprived areas but also due to lower absence rates among students from the least deprived areas. In a second study (published in Review of Education), we conducted a systematic review and narrative synthesis of the relationship between family socioeconomic status and school absenteeism. The majority of studies from high-income contexts found an association between SES and absenteeism in the expected direction, albeit on average with small effect sizes. Studies largely confirmed these findings among populations at risk of school absence and those from low- and middle-income countries. There was greater evidence for an association between absenteeism and SES measured at the family than the school level. Studies using SES measures of financial resources (e.g., free or reduced-price lunch) provided more evidence for this association than studies measuring sociocultural resources (e.g., parental education). We found limited evidence that socioeconomic gaps in absenteeism vary by the reasons for absence. Research on the mediating pathways between SES and absenteeism is sparse. A key implication is that attempts to address inequalities in educational outcomes must include tackling SES gaps in school attendance. In a third study (forthcoming in AERA Open), we examined the association between different forms of school absenteeism and academic achievement in secondary schooling. We found that truancy, temporary exclusion, and sickness absence had significant adverse effects on academic achievement, while absences due to family holidays and exceptional domestic circumstances did not. These results suggest that, in addition to lost instruction, other mechanisms such as behavioural, health-related, and psychosocial pathways may explain the association between absenteeism and achievement. The findings have implications for designing tailored absenteeism interventions to improve achievement. In a fourth study (under review), we investigated whether the association between absences (overall, sickness, and truancy) and achievement in high-stakes exams varied by family SES dimensions (parental education, class, free school meal registration, and housing,). Results show no statistical significant While we did not find any substantial differences across SES groups for the link between overall absences and achievement. However, truancy and sickness absences were more harmful to the achievement of lower SES students. Statistically significant differences For sickness absence, differences between the most and least disadvantaged groups were found for sickness absence on all SES dimensions except parental education. In a fifth study (in preparation for submission), we investigated whether school absences in upper secondary schooling are associated with post-school destinations (NEET status, class position). We found that school absences are associated with the risk of being not in employment, education, or training (NEET). While this association can be partly explained by educational attainment, a statistically significant direct effect of school absences on becoming NEET remains. However, we did not find any association between school absences and the risk of being in a working class position among those entering employment. |
Exploitation Route | The outcomes of this funding stress the importance of tackling school absences for reducing socioeconomic achievement gaps and labour market inequality. Policymakers and practitioners may want to invest into targeted interventions to reduce absenteeism among pupils from lower socioeconomic backgrounds. They may also invest in interventions that help mitigating the harmful impact of school absences that cannot be avoided (e.g., sickness absences). Lastly, they may want to help frequently absent students to improve both their cognitive as well as non-cognitive skills to succeed in the labour market. |
Sectors | Communities and Social Services/Policy,Education |
Description | Our project significantly raised awareness of the importance of school attendance for children's education and life course outcomes among practitioners and policymakers. For instance, the Forth Valley & West Lothian Regional Collaborative has created an Interactive Attendance Guide for schools in their local authorities heavily drawing on our research. They also invited us to give a keynote at their national school attendance event for headteachers across Scotland. Our research is further cited in the Scottish Parliament and governmental reports stressing the significance of reducing school absenteeism and mitigating their negative consequences.. The Scottish Government, Commissioner for Fair Access report "Higher Education - re-committing to Fair Access - a plan for recovery: Annual report 2021" draws on our research arguing "A recent research briefing from the University of Strathclyde has examined the connection between school attendance and the poverty-related attainment gap. Corrective and compensatory action needs to be taken as a matter of urgency" (p. 37). |
First Year Of Impact | 2021 |
Sector | Education |
Impact Types | Societal,Policy & public services |
Description | Citation in Education Scotland review |
Geographic Reach | National |
Policy Influence Type | Citation in other policy documents |
URL | https://education.gov.scot/improvement/research/recalibrating-equity-and-social-justice-in-scottish-... |
Description | Citation in review on influence of Covid-19 on poverty-related attainment gap |
Geographic Reach | National |
Policy Influence Type | Citation in systematic reviews |
URL | https://fraserofallander.org/wp-content/uploads/2022/01/Ciara-Final-Report-Covid-and-attainment-.pdf |
Description | Evidence Review - Poverty Alliance |
Geographic Reach | National |
Policy Influence Type | Citation in other policy documents |
URL | https://www.povertyalliance.org/wp-content/uploads/2021/02/The-Poverty-related-Attainment-Gap-A-Revi... |
Description | Government of Finland |
Geographic Reach | Europe |
Policy Influence Type | Citation in other policy documents |
URL | https://julkaisut.valtioneuvosto.fi/bitstream/handle/10024/162695/COVID-19%20tutkimuskatsaus%202-202... |
Description | Irish Government, Department of Children, Equality, Disability, Integration and Youth |
Geographic Reach | Europe |
Policy Influence Type | Citation in other policy documents |
URL | https://www.growingup.gov.ie/pubs/Research-Needs-Report-for-GUI-at-25.pdf |
Description | Research Commission for the Scottish Covid-19 Inquiry |
Geographic Reach | National |
Policy Influence Type | Citation in other policy documents |
URL | https://www.covid19inquiry.scot/sites/default/files/2022-06/Portfolio%204%20-%20McCluskey%20et%20al.... |
Description | Royal Society of Edinburgh |
Geographic Reach | National |
Policy Influence Type | Citation in other policy documents |
URL | https://rse.org.uk/wp-content/uploads/2022/10/RSE-AP-Enhanced-data-collection-for-educational-improv... |
Description | Scottish Parliament - Education, Children and Young People Committee |
Geographic Reach | National |
Policy Influence Type | Citation in other policy documents |
URL | https://www.scottishparliament.tv/meeting/education-children-and-young-people-committee-april-20-202... |
Description | The Scottish Government, Commissioner for Fair Access |
Geographic Reach | National |
Policy Influence Type | Citation in other policy documents |
URL | https://www.gov.scot/publications/re-committing-fair-access-plan-recovery-annual-report-2021/documen... |
Description | UCL EPPI - Evidence review |
Geographic Reach | National |
Policy Influence Type | Citation in systematic reviews |
URL | https://eppi.ioe.ac.uk/cms/LinkClick.aspx?fileticket=Yxnj8IdsTIU%3D&tabid=3842&portalid=0 |
Description | Is school absenteeism harmful to education and labour market outcomes? |
Amount | £214,755 (GBP) |
Funding ID | FR-23241 |
Organisation | Nuffield Foundation |
Sector | Charity/Non Profit |
Country | United Kingdom |
Start | 05/2022 |
End | 04/2024 |
Title | Scottish Longitudinal Study |
Description | The project created a new data infrastructure as part of the Scottish Longitudinal Study (SLS) by linking Scottish Census data 2001 and 2011, School Census data 2007-2010, and National Health Service (NHS) data. We gained approval from the SLS Board and the NHS Board to conduct our study in a Safe Setting Place at National Records of Scotland in Edinburgh. We are the first external collaborators to gain approval to link NHS data to the SLS data. |
Type Of Material | Database/Collection of data |
Year Produced | 2018 |
Provided To Others? | No |
Impact | The SLS team developed the expertise in linking these various data resources from Census, School Census and NHS. Our syntax files will be made available for replication purposes in the future and facilitate the workflow for future researchers working on similar projects around education. |
URL | https://sls.lscs.ac.uk/projects/view/2018_007/ |
Description | Non-academic partners |
Organisation | General Teaching Council for Scotland |
Country | United Kingdom |
Sector | Charity/Non Profit |
PI Contribution | - Making them aware of the importance of school absenteeism in general and in particular in relation to socio-economic differences in educational attainment - Making them aware of the rich administrative data infrastructure in Scotland for researching the role of school absenteeism in mediating social inequalities in educational attainment - Providing them with cutting-edge knowledge from key literature on the role of school absenteeism in mediating social inequalities in educational attainment |
Collaborator Contribution | In the meeting mentioned above the partners made the following important contributions to our research project: - Shaping and informing research questions - Making us aware of important contextual policy initiatives that may influence our empirical results - Clarifying how to measure and interpret key constructs such as different types of school absenteeism - Making us aware of the sensitivity around how we communicate our results in way that does not stigmatise vulnerable groups - Participation in Knowledge Exchange Events |
Impact | We presented first results from our project at the Engage Strathclyde event "Who is Missing Out on School? The Role of School Absenteeism in the Poverty-Related Attainment Gap". For more information see here: https://www.engage.strath.ac.uk/event/604 (March 2019) Together with Poverty Alliance and General Teaching Council for Scotland (GTCS), we organised the webinar "School absences and the poverty-related attainment gap" (March 2022). https://www.strath.ac.uk/humanities/events/schoolabsencesandthepovertyrelatedattainmentgap/ |
Start Year | 2018 |
Description | Non-academic partners |
Organisation | Poverty Alliance |
Country | United Kingdom |
Sector | Charity/Non Profit |
PI Contribution | - Making them aware of the importance of school absenteeism in general and in particular in relation to socio-economic differences in educational attainment - Making them aware of the rich administrative data infrastructure in Scotland for researching the role of school absenteeism in mediating social inequalities in educational attainment - Providing them with cutting-edge knowledge from key literature on the role of school absenteeism in mediating social inequalities in educational attainment |
Collaborator Contribution | In the meeting mentioned above the partners made the following important contributions to our research project: - Shaping and informing research questions - Making us aware of important contextual policy initiatives that may influence our empirical results - Clarifying how to measure and interpret key constructs such as different types of school absenteeism - Making us aware of the sensitivity around how we communicate our results in way that does not stigmatise vulnerable groups - Participation in Knowledge Exchange Events |
Impact | We presented first results from our project at the Engage Strathclyde event "Who is Missing Out on School? The Role of School Absenteeism in the Poverty-Related Attainment Gap". For more information see here: https://www.engage.strath.ac.uk/event/604 (March 2019) Together with Poverty Alliance and General Teaching Council for Scotland (GTCS), we organised the webinar "School absences and the poverty-related attainment gap" (March 2022). https://www.strath.ac.uk/humanities/events/schoolabsencesandthepovertyrelatedattainmentgap/ |
Start Year | 2018 |
Description | School Attendance Working Group with Excluded Lives Project |
Organisation | University of Oxford |
Country | United Kingdom |
Sector | Academic/University |
PI Contribution | Planning of research gap workshop on school attendance and exclusions Proposition of special issue for journal Emotional and Behavioural Difficulties |
Collaborator Contribution | Planning of research gap workshop on school attendance and exclusions Proposition of special issue for journal Emotional and Behavioural Difficulties |
Impact | No outputs yet |
Start Year | 2022 |
Description | Scotland-Spain Collaboration on School Absenteeism |
Organisation | University of Alicante |
Country | Spain |
Sector | Academic/University |
PI Contribution | - Hosting of PhD student Mariola Giménez Miralles (University of Alicante) in our project at the University of Strathclyde - Writing of paper for special issue in Orbis Scolae comparing administrative data use across Scotland and Spain - PhD thesis committee (Markus Klein, Edward Sosu) for Mariola Giménez Miralles a the University of Alicante |
Collaborator Contribution | Guidance on our research |
Impact | No outputs yet |
Start Year | 2022 |
Description | "Broader measures needed" to address inequalities in school absenteeism |
Form Of Engagement Activity | A press release, press conference or response to a media enquiry/interview |
Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
Geographic Reach | National |
Primary Audience | Media (as a channel to the public) |
Results and Impact | A press release on our first research brief investigating socioeconomic inequalities in school absenteeism. This press release was picked up by other media outlets. |
Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2020 |
URL | https://www.strath.ac.uk/whystrathclyde/archive2020/broadermeasuresneededtoaddressinequalitiesinscho... |
Description | 2021 ISA RC28 Spring Meeting: Accumulation and compensation of inequalities: School absenteeism and academic achievement. Is missing out on school more detrimental for students from lower socioeconomic backgrounds? |
Form Of Engagement Activity | A talk or presentation |
Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
Geographic Reach | International |
Primary Audience | Other audiences |
Results and Impact | This talk to an academic audience provided us with feedback to improve our research design and methodology. |
Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2021 |
URL | https://rc28turku.utu.fi/ |
Description | Data Can Tell Us 'What Works' in Education Insights from Quantitative Education Research |
Form Of Engagement Activity | Participation in an activity, workshop or similar |
Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
Geographic Reach | National |
Primary Audience | Policymakers/politicians |
Results and Impact | The event summarised our findings to a policymakers and practitioners |
Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2021 |
URL | https://www.engage.strath.ac.uk/event/804 |
Description | ECSR (European Consortium for Sociological Research) Annual Conference 2021: Family background and academic achievement: The mediating role of school absenteeism |
Form Of Engagement Activity | A talk or presentation |
Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
Geographic Reach | International |
Primary Audience | Other audiences |
Results and Impact | We presented work on the mediating role of school absenteeism for social inequalities in educational attainment. Questions of causality were raised which we tried to address more robustly in future work. |
Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2021 |
URL | https://ecsrnet.eu/news/ecsr-annual-conference/ |
Description | Education Blog: School Attendance and the Poverty-related Attainment Gap |
Form Of Engagement Activity | Engagement focused website, blog or social media channel |
Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
Geographic Reach | National |
Primary Audience | Professional Practitioners |
Results and Impact | The blog post summarised our research findings in an accessible way to a lay audience. |
Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2021 |
URL | https://www.strath.ac.uk/humanities/schoolofeducation/blog/schoolattendanceandthepoverty-relatedatta... |
Description | Education Scotland: Signposting Equity Issue 12 |
Form Of Engagement Activity | A broadcast e.g. TV/radio/film/podcast (other than news/press) |
Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
Geographic Reach | National |
Primary Audience | Professional Practitioners |
Results and Impact | We were invited by the Attainment Adviser team at Education Scotland to present our findings in a podcast to teachers and headteachers across Scotland. |
Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2021 |
URL | https://sway.office.com/x5EJ7G2hrOjsTgnG?ref=Link |
Description | European Conference for Education Research 2021, Geneva (online): School absenteeism and academic achievement Is missing out on school more detrimental for students from lower socioeconomic backgrounds? |
Form Of Engagement Activity | A talk or presentation |
Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
Geographic Reach | International |
Primary Audience | Other audiences |
Results and Impact | The discussion after the talk provided us with vital information on how to reframe our theoretical considerations. |
Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2021 |
URL | https://eera-ecer.de/previous-ecers/ecer-2021-geneva/ |
Description | Family socioeconomic status and academic achievement: the mediating role of school absenteeism |
Form Of Engagement Activity | A talk or presentation |
Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
Geographic Reach | International |
Primary Audience | Professional Practitioners |
Results and Impact | Talk at the International Network for School Attendance (INSA) Conference in Egmont aan Zee, Netherlands (October 2022). Valuable engagement with practitioners and policymakers to gain an international perspective on our research. |
Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2022 |
Description | General Teaching Council of Scotland Publication Teaching Scotland |
Form Of Engagement Activity | A magazine, newsletter or online publication |
Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
Geographic Reach | National |
Primary Audience | Professional Practitioners |
Results and Impact | The GTCS publication provided a short summary of our research on socioeconomic inequalities in school absenteeism. This informed a wider group of professional practitioners of our project endevours. |
Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2020 |
URL | https://edition.pagesuite-professional.co.uk/html5/reader/production/default.aspx?pubname=&edid=2177... |
Description | International Network of School Attendance Newsletter |
Form Of Engagement Activity | A magazine, newsletter or online publication |
Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
Geographic Reach | International |
Primary Audience | Professional Practitioners |
Results and Impact | The International Network of School Attendance (INSA) included a summary of our project including our output in their newsletter. The International Network for School Attendance (INSA) exists for all those who wish to promote school attendance and respond to school absenteeism. It aims to compile, generate, evaluate, and disseminate information, assessment, and intervention strategies. |
Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2021 |
URL | https://www.insa.network/ |
Description | Presentation at European Conference of Education Research (ECER), 03.09.-06.09.2019, Hamburg: Who is Missing Out on School? Exploring Socioeconomic Inequalities in School Absenteeism |
Form Of Engagement Activity | A talk or presentation |
Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
Geographic Reach | International |
Primary Audience | Other audiences |
Results and Impact | Presentation of findings on the association between socioeconomic background and school absenteeism at education-focused academic conference (30 participants). |
Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2019 |
URL | https://eera-ecer.de/ecer-programmes/conference/24/contribution/47563/ |
Description | Presentation at Society for Longitudinal and Lifecourse Studies (SLLS) Conference, 25-27 September, Potsdam: School absenteeism and educational attainment: Is missing-out on school more detrimental to students from lower socioeconomic backgrounds? |
Form Of Engagement Activity | A talk or presentation |
Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
Geographic Reach | International |
Primary Audience | Other audiences |
Results and Impact | Presentation of our findings on the association between school absenteeism and educational attainment at a method-focused academic conference. |
Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2019 |
URL | https://8eb09126-a526-416f-85a3-d4becc810a9a.filesusr.com/ugd/df1448_a93c5ad45eb04bc9809485845f32f42... |
Description | Psychology of Education Section Annual Conference 2021: Socioeconomic status, school absenteeism, and academic achievement |
Form Of Engagement Activity | A talk or presentation |
Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
Geographic Reach | National |
Primary Audience | Other audiences |
Results and Impact | The audience provided us with helpful input on how to revise our methodology. |
Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2021 |
URL | https://www.bps.org.uk/member-microsites/psychology-education-section/events |
Description | School absences in secondary schooling and adolescents' post-school destinations - Evidence from the Scottish Longitudinal Study |
Form Of Engagement Activity | A talk or presentation |
Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
Geographic Reach | International |
Primary Audience | Other audiences |
Results and Impact | Talk at European Association for Research on Adolescence (EARA) Conference in Dublin, Ireland (August 2022). We received valuable feedback on our paper. |
Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2022 |
Description | School absences in secondary schooling and adolescents' post-school destinations - Evidence from the Scottish Longitudinal Study |
Form Of Engagement Activity | A talk or presentation |
Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
Geographic Reach | International |
Primary Audience | Other audiences |
Results and Impact | Academic talk at Transitions in Youth (TIY) Conference in Naples, Italy (September 2022). We gained valuable feedback on our paper. |
Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2022 |
Description | School absenteeism and academic achievement - Heterogeneity across type of absence and family socioeconomic status |
Form Of Engagement Activity | A talk or presentation |
Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
Geographic Reach | National |
Primary Audience | Professional Practitioners |
Results and Impact | Talk at the Scottish Educational Research Association (SERA) Conference in Ayr, Scotland (November 2022). We received valuable feedback from practitioners on the recording and reporting of our administrative school data. |
Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2022 |
Description | School absenteeism rose amid pandemic - predominantly in more deprived areas |
Form Of Engagement Activity | A press release, press conference or response to a media enquiry/interview |
Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
Geographic Reach | National |
Primary Audience | Policymakers/politicians |
Results and Impact | Press release on our second research brief investigating socioeconomic inequalities in school absences after the first Covid-19-related lockdown. |
Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2021 |
URL | https://www.strath.ac.uk/whystrathclyde/news/2021/schoolabsenteeismroseamidpandemic-predominantlyinm... |
Description | Scottish Quantitative Education Research Workshop |
Form Of Engagement Activity | Participation in an activity, workshop or similar |
Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
Geographic Reach | National |
Primary Audience | Other audiences |
Results and Impact | First meeting of the Quantitative Education Research Group where we presented an overview of our project and received valuable methodological feedback. |
Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2022 |
Description | Society for Longitudinal and Lifecourse Studies 2021 International Online Conference: Are school leavers' post-school destinations associated with their school attendance during secondary education? |
Form Of Engagement Activity | A talk or presentation |
Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
Geographic Reach | International |
Primary Audience | Other audiences |
Results and Impact | We presented our work on the association between school absenteeism and postschool destinations to an international audience of scholars and practitioners. We received great feedback on how to improve the methodology of the paper. |
Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2021 |
URL | https://www.slls.org.uk/_files/ugd/df1448_840be8d52e8c43f28f692e89623443f8.pdf |
Description | University of Strathclyde - School of Education - Podcasts |
Form Of Engagement Activity | A broadcast e.g. TV/radio/film/podcast (other than news/press) |
Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
Geographic Reach | National |
Primary Audience | Professional Practitioners |
Results and Impact | We were interviewed by Dr Claire Cassidy (University of Strathclyde) about our research. |
Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2021 |
URL | https://anchor.fm/strathclyde-education/episodes/Podcast-21-Meet-an-academic-Dr--Edward-Sosu-and-Dr-... |
Description | University of Strathclyde Engage Event: Who is Missing Out on School? The Role of School Absenteeism in the Poverty Related Attainment Gap |
Form Of Engagement Activity | Participation in an activity, workshop or similar |
Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
Geographic Reach | National |
Primary Audience | Professional Practitioners |
Results and Impact | We presented findings from our study which explored the relationship between socio-economic characteristics and school absenteeism in Scottish secondary schools to a range of stakeholders in education (55 participants). This was followed by questions and discussions around the implications of our research for policy and practice. |
Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2019 |
URL | https://www.engage.strath.ac.uk/event/604 |
Description | Webinar "School absences and the poverty-related attainment gap" |
Form Of Engagement Activity | Participation in an activity, workshop or similar |
Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
Geographic Reach | International |
Primary Audience | Policymakers/politicians |
Results and Impact | In 2022, we hosted a webinar with our non-academic partners, Poverty Alliance and GTC Scotland, summarising our research and discussing the implications for policy and practice. A recording is available on the HASS Strathclyde YouTube channel. There were 55 participants, including representatives from Scottish Government and Education Scotland. Several Attainment Advisors from Education Scotland attended our most recent Webinar. Education Scotland made the webinar recording accessible to their staff. They have asked that we share our results at one of their SAC(Scottish Attainment Challenge) Days. Mike Corbett (NASUWT National Official Scotland) attended our webinar and spoke on April 20 before the Education, Children, and Young People Committee, citing our findings on school absences and the poverty-related performance gap |
Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2022 |
URL | https://www.strath.ac.uk/humanities/events/schoolabsencesandthepovertyrelatedattainmentgap/ |
Description | schoolattendance.org |
Form Of Engagement Activity | Engagement focused website, blog or social media channel |
Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
Geographic Reach | International |
Primary Audience | Policymakers/politicians |
Results and Impact | The webpage summarises our research and provides information on future work. |
Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2021,2022 |
URL | https://schoolattendance.org/ |