Managing School Absenteeism at Multiple Tiers: An Evidence-Based and Practical Guide for Professionals
Abstract
This book provides an integrative strategy for preventing, assessing, and addressing cases with school absenteeism at multiple levels of severity and complexity. School absenteeism is a pervasive, difficult problem faced by many types of school officials, mental health professionals, and others and, even in mild forms, is a significant risk factor for social, behavioral, and academic problems in middle childhood and adolescence as well as psychiatric, economic, and occupational difficulties in adulthood. Problematic absenteeism has been examined for decades in many disciplines, which has created a considerably fractured literature. Some professionals examine anxiety-based school refusal, whereas others examine delinquent-based truancy. This has produced little consensus regarding prevention, assessment, and intervention for all cases of absenteeism. This book addresses the lack of consensus by presenting a multitiered approach concentrating on prevention (Tier 1), early intervention for emerging cases (Tier 2), and extensive intervention and systemic strategies for severe cases (Tier 3). Each tier is based upon empirically supported strategies. The framework for this multitiered approach is based on a Response to Intervention model that is based upon several tenets that parallel developments in the school absenteeism literature: (1) a proactive focus on early identification of learning and behavior problems and immediate, effective intervention; (2) universal, targeted, and intensive interventions; (3) frequent progress monitoring; (4) functional behavioral assessment; (5) empirically supported treatment procedures and protocols to reduce obstacles to academic achievement (including absenteeism); and (6) a team-based approach for implementation.
Keywords:
School absenteeism,
truancy,
attendance,
school refusal behavior,
dropout.
Bibliographic Information
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- Print Publication Date:
- Apr 2016
- Print ISBN-13:
- 9780199985296
- Published online:
- Jun 2016
- DOI:
- 10.1093/med:psych/9780199985296.001.0001
