Date of Publication
2023
Abstract
Background: Truancy, or chronic absenteeism, is defined as missing 10% or more of school days. Students who are chronically absent any year between 8th and 12th grade are seven times more likely to drop out. A Howard Center survey found that 33% of students in the Burlington school district were chronically absent. Schools identified the complex and intensive needs of students and families as the main driver of truancy. Our aim was to survey family perspectives on barriers to school attendance, the efficacy of attempted strategies, and family suggestions for future strategies to address truancy in Chittenden school districts.
Methods: We designed an interview script that was used to interview families recruited by community partners. Eight coders examined interview notes using a thematic content analysis to identify areas of need for families.
Results: We conducted a group interview of four Somali families via translator. Themes from caregivers’ responses included: 1) communication breakdown between the school and families, 2) racism as perceived systemic bias from school staff, 3) safety as a perceived lack of concern by the school for students, and 4) caregivers identified the biggest positive influence on their child’s attendance as teachers who create an inclusive and inspiring learning environment.
Conclusion: More work is needed to learn the diverse perspectives of the Burlington community. Families may be more comfortable with group interviews conducted at established, school-sponsored events. Based on the interviews, fostering positive relationships among teachers, families, and students may prove to be most beneficial at combating chronic absenteeism.
Advisor(s)
Elzerie de Jager, MBBS, PhD
Larner College of Medicine, University of Vermont
Betsy Ferry
Community Mentor
Kaitlin Dew
Community Mentor
Kate Cappleman Sinz
Community Mentor
Cara Krebs
Community Mentor
Subjects
Child and Adolescent Development, Children, Community, Economic Stability, Education Access and Quality, Educational and Community-Based Programs, Social and Community Context, Social Determinants of Health, Workforce, Workplace
Creative Commons License
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial 3.0 License
Recommended Citation
Cottle, Cassidy; Fellenstein, Brian A.; Hepp, Steven M.; Hurd, Molly; Karpowicz, Kristin; Le, Joshua H.; Liu, Jasmine M.; and Yang, Sarah, "Family-Centered Perspectives on Barriers to School Attendance" (2023). Public Health Projects, 2008-present. 339.
https://scholarworks.uvm.edu/comphp_gallery/339
