School Absenteeism and Academic Achievement:Does the Reason for Absence Matter?

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

Changes in cognitive outcomes in early childhood : the role of family income and volatility

Associations between family income and child developmental outcomes are well documented. However, family income is not static but changes over time. Although this volatility represents income shocks that are likely to affect children's lives, very few studies have so far examined its effect on early cognitive development. This study investigated associations between family income, volatility, and changes in cognitive outcomes in early childhood, and examined whether these association are dependent on a family's overall income position. Data for the study spanned five waves of the Growing Up in Scotland longitudinal survey (N=3,621). Findings indicate that income volatility was more prevalent among disadvantaged sociodemographic groups. In addition to average income, short-term volatility was associated with changes in child cognitive outcomes from ages 3 to 5. While upward volatility was associated with gains in expressive vocabulary, downward and fluctuating volatility were associated with declines in child problem-solving abilities. The association between volatility and changes in cognitive outcomes was similar for both children living in poverty and those from medium-high income households. Our results suggest that policies aiming to cushion all families from negative income shocks, boost family income to ensure stability, and take low-income families out of poverty will have a significant impact on children's cognitive development. Additionally, a more nuanced conceptualization of income is needed to understand its multidimensional impact on developmental outcomes

'Are all beliefs equal?' Investigating the nature and determinants of parental attitudinal beliefs towards educational inclusion

This study explores the nature of parental attitudinal beliefs towards educational inclusion and the factors that determine these beliefs. Participants were drawn from the Growing Up in Scotland Survey (N=2200). Results indicate that majority of parents held positive generalised belief towards including children with additional support needs (ASN) in mainstream classrooms (90%), compared with belief about the benefits of inclusion for children with ASN (72%), or benefits for typically developing children (70%). Lower parental income and higher levels of satisfaction with child’s current school were associated with positive generalised beliefs. Belief about the benefits of inclusion for children with ASN was also positively associated with lower parental income, while belief about benefits for typically developing children was determined by higher parental education and age. Our findings suggest that efforts to increase parental attitudes should target salient beliefs and take into account the determinants of each of these beliefs

Trajectory of university dropout : investigating the cumulative effect of academic vulnerability and proximity to family support

University dropout is a major policy concern around the world because of its consequences for the individual, institutions and society. In this study, we offer new evidence by examining the cumulative effect of academic vulnerability and family support on trajectory of dropout among cohorts of undergraduate students in Thailand. Data were drawn from administrative records of two cohorts of students (n = 1,613), and consisted of information on which semester individual's dropped out of university. Using discrete time survival analysis, we first modeled the trajectory of dropout without predictors followed by a conditional model which examined the effects of predictors on the trajectory of dropout. Cumulative effects of predictors were then examined by plotting the probabilities of their combined effects on dropout in each semester. Our findings show that while the beginning of the second year was a critical period of dropout with almost 20% of students leaving by this time, as much as 10% of students drop out between the second and final year. Students with the lowest entry grades were about 2.17 times more likely to dropout while those who were farther away from family support were 1.32 times more likely to drop out across each semester. The cumulative effect of low entry grades and living away from family support resulted in a 30% probability of dropping out in the second year. The dropout rate among this category of students by the final year was 60% compared to only 14% for students with high entry grades and who live close to their families. Among other things, we recommend that interventions to reduce dropout should encompass both helping students to access family support and develop personal connections at university to compensate for absence of family support, as well as academically focused support for student who do not have a strong entry qualification

Socioeconomic status and school absenteeism:A systematic review and narrative synthesis

School absenteeism is detrimental to life course outcomes and is known to be socioeconomically stratified. However, the link between socioeconomic status (SES) and school absence is complex given the multidimensional nature of both family SES (e.g., income, education, occupational status) and absenteeism (e.g., truancy, sickness, suspension). Despite the vast literature on socioeconomic inequalities in school attendance, no systematic review on SES and school absenteeism exists. This study systematically reviewed and provides a narrative synthesis of journal articles (n = 55) published between 1998 to 2019 on the association between SES dimensions and forms of 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). There is limited evidence that socioeconomic achievement 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

Widening Access to Higher Education for Students from Economically Disadvantaged Backgrounds : What Works and Why? [Summary Report]

There are significant social inequalities in access to higher education internationally. Students from the most disadvantaged backgrounds remain persistently under-represented in higher education (HE). Put simply, university populations fail to reflect their broader societies, with the vast majority of entrants coming from more advantaged backgrounds. Our research contributes to the ongoing effort by systematically examining the evidence for policy and programme interventions that widen access to higher education. We also examined trends in widening access in Scotland, barriers to access, and the impact of the national outreach scheme, the Schools for Higher Education Programme (SHEP), in supporting students to overcome these barriers. We provide recommendations for different stakeholders

A systematic review of the studies testing the integrated motivational-volitional model of suicidal behaviour

Despite the influence of the integrated motivational-volitional (IMV)1 model on research and practice, the supporting literature has not been systematically synthesised. This systematic review aims to synthesise the literature testing the IMV model of suicidal behaviour. Using citation and database searching, PsycINFO, EMBASE, PubMed, Web of Science, and Google Scholar were searched for studies referencing the IMV model (last searched on 28th March 2023). Included studies empirically tested the hypotheses of the model. Quality assessment was conducted using the National Institute of Health tool. Findings from 98 records (100 studies, 138,365 participants) were narratively synthesised. Results from studies directly testing the hypothesised pathways of the model supported the defeat-entrapment-suicidal ideation pathway of the IMV model. Case–control studies comparing differences between control, ideation, and enactment groups were consistent with hypotheses in univariate and cross-sectional analyses. However, support for the model was mixed for case–control multivariate and prospective studies. Due to low overlap in variables studied, the role of specific pre-motivational phase variables and stage-specific moderators was inconclusive. The studies received overall good quality ratings. The IMV model presents a promising framework for understanding and preventing suicide. Defeat, entrapment, and key variables may be useful in informing suicide prevention measures

Evaluation of the East Lothian Tutoring Initiative (ELTI)

The East Lothian Tutoring Initiative (ELTI) was developed in rapid response to growing concerns about the widening achievement gap amongst pupils from disadvantaged backgrounds, who had been disproportionately disadvantaged as a result of COVID-related school lockdowns and associated interruptions to their learning. The initiative was informed by evidence that tutoring can substantially improve learning outcomes for children from disadvantaged backgrounds and can help to close "the poverty-related attainment gap"

Socioeconomic inequalities in learning opportunities, educational achievement, and mental health : impact of COVID-19 school lockdown in Ghana

Globally, the COVID-19 pandemic has had an unprecedented impact on children’s education, with about 90% of children being affected by school closures worldwide (UNESCO, 2020a, 2020b). Prior to the pandemic, there were significant inequalities in children’s achievement across the educational life course, with students from lower socioeconomic (SES) backgrounds achieving lower outcomes than their high SES peers (Miller et al., 2015; Sosu & Schmidt, 2017; Wolf & McCoy, 2019; Nyatsikor et al., 2020). The COVID-19 pandemic and associated school closures are expected to exacerbate socioeconomic gaps in children’s learning, achievement, and wellbeing (e.g., Andrew et al., 2020; Sabates et al., 2021; Schult et al., 2021; UN, 2020). Emerging evidence on the impact of the pandemic indicates SES inequalities in children’s engagement with home and online learning (Allen & Wespieser, 2021; Kuhfeld et al., 2020; The DELVE Initiative, 2020) and mental health during school closures (Dewa et al., 2020; Silva Junior et al., 2020; Young Minds, 2020). There were also SES differences in school attendance after schools reopened, with lower SES children more likely to miss school (Sosu & Klein, 2021). This has increased concerns about the long-term educational and wellbeing impacts of the pandemic on all children, especially those from disadvantaged background

Mapping inequalities in school attendance:The relationship between dimensions of socioeconomic status and forms of school absence

In this article, we investigated whether and to what extent various dimensions of socioeconomic background (parental education, parental class, free school meal registration, housing status, and neighborhood deprivation) predict overall school absences and different reasons for absenteeism (truancy, sickness, family holidays and temporary exclusion) among 4,620 secondary school pupils in Scotland. Students were drawn from a sample of the Scottish Longitudinal Study comprising linked Census data and administrative school records. Using fractional logit models and logistic regressions, we found that all dimensions of socioeconomic background were uniquely linked to overall absences. Multiple measures of socioeconomic background were also associated with truancy, sickness-related absence, and temporary exclusion. Social housing and parental education had the most pervasive associations with school absences across all forms of absenteeism. Our findings highlight the need to consider the multidimensionality of socioeconomic background in policy and research decisions on school absenteeism. A more explicit focus on narrowing the socioeconomic gap in absenteeism is required to close the inequality gap in educational and post-school outcomes