Linking Student Wellbeing and Chronic Absenteeism: Evidence from Georgia

• In Event: AERA Roundtable Session Saturday 1:45 pm - Gold 1
  In Roundtable Session: Mixed Methods Approaches to Identifying Policy Solutions to Absenteeism

Abstract

This study investigates the relationship between student wellbeing and chronic absenteeism in the aftermath of the COVID-19 pandemic. Using statewide student- and school-level data from Georgia, we examine how indicators of student wellbeing—mental health difficulties, suicidal thoughts and behaviors, peer victimization, and perceptions of school climate—are associated with school attendance over time. Drawing on ecological systems theory, we frame student wellbeing as an understudied driver of absenteeism that warrants further attention. Our preliminary findings suggest that disparities in absenteeism have been exacerbated after the pandemic and student wellbeing indicators are increasingly predictive of attendance patterns. These results underscore the importance of centering student wellbeing in efforts to reduce absenteeism and reimagine post-pandemic educational systems.

Authors

• Jerome Graham, Michigan State University

• Su Yon Choi, Michigan State University

• Richard O. Welsh, Vanderbilt University

• Daphne M. Penn, Vanderbilt University

• Kathryn Enriquez, Vanderbilt University