In this webinar, Dr. Charles Basch, Richard March Hoe Professor of Health and Education at Teachers College, Columbia University, presented the causal connections between health factors and the motivation and ability to learn. This Q&A addressed the questions participants had for Dr. Basch following the webinar. The webinar recording and…

After reviewing the extent of in-school truancy in the Detroit high schools, the author offers three recommendations centering on the adoption and enforcement of attendance policies that lead the student to acceptance of personal responsibility for his/her attendance. (Author/IRT)

Neil Southwell states that he was, himself, a persistent truant from school. He returned to education as a mature student via an access course and he now lectures in education studies at the University of Northampton. He is currently researching into truancy, its causes and its management and brings to his work an unusual but highly illuminating…

Discusses truancy in terms of its definition, frequency of occurrence, causation, and management. Concludes that with further evaluative studies it will be possible to predict how legal, casework, medical, and psychological procedures can be effectively used to manage unjustified absence from school. (RH)

Argues that schools should develop and implement a comprehensive attendance policy that encourages students to have good attendance. Discusses eight questions for principals that may help determine whether their schools have a serious problem. Outlines practical suggestions for improving attendance in schools. (HB)

Although status offenders (young people defined as incorrigible, runaways, or truants) have often been abused previously, their placement in hospital psychiatric wards constitutes further abuse. Insecure, insufficiently trained hospital staffers are one of the major problems that perpetuates the cycle of provocation and punishment in…

The problem of truancy and irregular school attendance is widespread in urban, suburban, and rural school districts. The media have interesting and far-reaching capabilities for combating this problem. Possible uses of the print media in this area include posters, bumper stickers, billboards, leaflets and flyers, handouts, buttons, T-shirts,…

"Learnfare" is a term applied to the mandating of school attendance for teen parents and/or school age dependent children in households receiving Aid to Families with Dependent Children (AFDC) benefits as a condition of continued eligibility. This idea emanates from policymakers' concern about high truancy and dropout rates generally,…

British standards governing school attendance have been modified and strengthened by the 1993 legislation. The required education may be received outside the public school system, but alternative schools in the private sector remain subject to control or regulation. (77 footnotes) (MLF)

Reponses to four letters from parents and a teacher of gifted children, relating to truancy in a gifted teenager; development of a regional gifted program; strategies appropriate for a primary gifted program; and instructional activities for a parent to use with her preschool age gifted child. (SBH)

Examines how school attendance/absence is perceived in Scotland, as reflected in educational research, policy, and practices. Suggests that the largest cause of absence--medical reasons--be disaggregated and addressed, both to support the education of students whose absence is inevitable and to improve the school attendance of children whose…

Describes one family's unsuccessful experience with a minority student in a foster home situation. Schools are not equipped to handle the special problems of certain students who make up a large percentage of the dropout population. (MD)

A review of court opinions on school discipline suggests that the use of academic penalties as a sanction for student misconduct is widespread and increasing. In 12 cases during the past decade examined in this chapter, students won 5 and lost 7. In challenges of school board policies that assess academic penalties for truancy, students won in…

The first stage for school improvement is to find constructive ways to better serve students who are not realizing their full capabilities. Potentially marginal students pass through various levels (testing limits, coasting, retreating and rebelling), and deliberate and constructive intervention can be implemented at each level. (GC)

Maintains that parents and physicians should adopt a tender love, rather than a tough love, approach when dealing with adolescents with behavior problems. The discussion is highlighted by a case study of a 15-year-old boy. (BB)