Identifying the Determinants of Chronic Absenteeism: A Bioecological Systems Approach

Autor/inn/en	Gottfried, Michael A.; Gee, Kevin A.
Titel	Identifying the Determinants of Chronic Absenteeism: A Bioecological Systems Approach
Quelle	In: Teachers College Record, 119 (2017) 7Infoseite zur Zeitschrift PDF als Volltext Verfügbarkeit
Sprache	englisch
Dokumenttyp	gedruckt; online; Zeitschriftenaufsatz
ISSN	0161-4681
Schlagwörter	Attendance; Attendance Patterns; Incidence; Early Childhood Education; Longitudinal Studies; Kindergarten; Hierarchical Linear Modeling; Probability; Child Health; Child Behavior; Learner Engagement; Learning Activities; Socioeconomic Status; Family Size; Etiology; Attribution Theory; Influences; Children; Surveys; Early Childhood Longitudinal Survey + Suchen Sie Ihr Suchwort? Anwesenheit; Vorkommen; Early childhood; Education; Frühkindliche Bildung; Frühpädagogik; Longitudinal study; Longitudinal method; Longitudinal methods; Längsschnittuntersuchung; Wahrscheinlichkeitsrechnung; Wahrscheinlichkeitstheorie; Lernaktivität; Socio-economic status; Sozioökonomischer Status; Familiengröße; Ätiologie; Influence; Einfluss; Einflussfaktor; Child; Kind; Kinder; Survey; Umfrage; Befragung
Abstract	Background/Context: Chronic school absenteeism is a pervasive problem across the US; in early education, it is most rampant in kindergarten and its consequences are particularly detrimental, often leading to poorer academic, behavioral and developmental outcomes later in life. Though prior empirical research has identified a broad range of determinants of chronic absenteeism, there lacks a single, unified theoretically driven investigation examining how such factors concurrently explain the incidence of chronic absenteeism among our nation's youngest schoolchildren. Thus, it is difficult to determine the relative importance of one factor over another, hence making it challenging to develop appropriate supports and services to reduce school absences. Purpose/Research Questions: Our study filled this critical void--we investigated multiple determinants of chronic absenteeism that were grounded, theoretically and empirically, in Bronfenbrenner's bioecological model of development. Specifically, using data from the Early Childhood Longitudinal Study, Kindergarten Class of 2010-11 (ECLS-K:2011) and the method of hierarchical generalized linear modeling (HGLM), we analyzed how the co-occurrence of key (1) process, (2) person, and (3) context (micro-, meso-, exo- and macrosystem) factors was associated with kindergarteners' probability of being chronically absent. Findings/Results: Children who have poorer health, higher internalizing behaviors, and more frequent engagement in learning activities at home had higher odds of chronic absenteeism. Also, children from larger families and of lower socioeconomic status faced increased odds of chronic absenteeism. Conversely, children holding positive attitudes towards school had lowered odds of chronic absenteeism, a finding that remained robust across socioeconomic status groups. Finally, parent-school connections were associated with lowered odds of absenteeism. Conclusions/Recommendations: Overall, our findings strongly suggested that addressing chronic absenteeism will require comprehensive and multifaceted approaches that recognize these multiple factors. With this theoretically grounded, more descriptive approach, it is more feasible to identify key factors and subsequently design policies and practices to prevent absence behavior. (As Provided).
Anmerkungen	Teachers College, Columbia University. P.O. Box 103, 525 West 120th Street, New York, NY 10027. Tel: 212-678-3774; Fax: 212-678-6619; e-mail: tcr@tc.edu; Web site: http://www.tcrecord.org
Erfasst von	ERIC (Education Resources Information Center), Washington, DC
Update	2020/1/01