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ERIC Number: EJ1046839
Record Type: Journal
Publication Date: 2014-Dec
Pages: 17
Abstractor: As Provided
ISBN: N/A
ISSN: ISSN-0042-0972
EISSN: N/A
Achievement for Students Who Are Persistently Absent: Missing School, Missing Out?
Arthurs, Nikie; Patterson, Jonathan; Bentley, Alex
Urban Review: Issues and Ideas in Public Education, v46 n5 p860-876 Dec 2014
This article, written by three research-active teachers with the support of their academic partner, interrogates the achievement-attendance link in the most recent government quantitative data for secondary schools in England: persistent absentees stands at 6.6% for all children, but it raises to 9% for students who are classed as "Pupil Premium", which is an official measure of poverty. In the urban high school and site of this case study, this data indicates it is 15% for all students and 20% for "Pupil Premium" students, and that these students are predominantly white British at 22.9% while another category of "any other white background" is 26.9%. This totals 50% of the school census. This article posits that if half of the student population are persistent absentees, with Gypsy Romany traveller students more persistently absent, there is a problem that needs investigation. The co-authors constructed a teacher inquiry project to ascertain the extent of student absences at school-level, to probe the reasons, scrutinize achievement, and develop a responsive action plan. Their point of departure was a concern that the quick fix solution, that is, enforced attendance with financial penalties for families who experience significant levels of poverty and deprivation, does not work.
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Publication Type: Journal Articles; Reports - Evaluative
Education Level: Secondary Education
Audience: N/A
Language: English
Sponsor: N/A
Authoring Institution: N/A
Identifiers - Location: United Kingdom (England)
Grant or Contract Numbers: N/A