Forth Valley and West Lothian Regional Improvement Collaborative
Attendance Focus: August-October 2022
Research Summary
| Research reference (with link) |
| Solutions to school refusal for parents and kids
Current Psychiatry. 2006 December;5(12):67-83 https://www.mdedge.com/psychiatry/article/62456/solutions-school-refusal-parents-and-kids/page/0/1 |
| Research methodology / Data Collection methods |
| This is an informational article backed by a range of research studies. |
| Key relevant findings |
| Longitudinal studies indicate that school refusal behaviour, if left unaddressed, can lead to serious short-term problems, such as distress, a decline in academic performance, alienation from peers, family conflict, and financial and legal consequences.
Common long-term problems include delinquent behaviours, economic deprivation, social isolation, marital problems, and difficulty maintaining employment. Approximately 52% of adolescents with school refusal behaviour meet criteria for an anxiety, depressive, conduct-personality, or other psychiatric disorder later in life. The most common age of onset is 10 to 13 years. It is Imperative to ascertain the form and function of school refusal behaviour. (Click the link for an example of a School Refusal Assessment Tool https://schoolavoidance.org/school-avoidance-101/ ) Aside from medication psychological techniques can be applied. Once the primary reinforcers for the behaviour have been established then a tailored technique can be applied, such as-child-based interventions to manage anxiety (cognitive therapy, breath work) parent-based techniques to manage refusals such as incentives and disincentives for attendance/non-attendance and help in establishing effective parenting skills. In severe cases a multidisciplinary approach is required including psychotherapy and or medication. A multi-agency/parental inclusion approach is most often a crucial element in resolving school refusal behaviour.
|
| Questions research raises |
| Are all educators aware of the short and long-term consequences of school refusal and what could mitigate these?
What policies and procedures are in place (both at LA and school level) to support children and families dealing with school refusal issues? How effectively do we identify and assess the underlying causes of absence including home, educational setting, and community factors? – Are we ascertaining the primary reinforcers and tailoring our interventions to specific needs? How do you effectively support those learners returning after extended absence? How could you facilitate an effective multi-agency approach? In what ways are we effectively addressing barriers to attendance?
|
| Follow up reading suggestions |
| https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/feduc.2021.715177/full
https://education.gov.scot/improvement/Documents/sac82-edinburgh-research.pdf Emotionally Based School Refusal Manual https://www.schoolavoidance.com/schools
|
