Ecological Causes of Absenteeism in Post-Pandemic High Schools: A Statewide Youth Participatory Action Research Study

• In Event: Social Emotional Dimensions of the Classroom

Abstract

This youth participatory action research (YPAR) study was led by a team of high school students from across Ohio who teamed with university researchers to investigate the causes of absenteeism in Ohio high schools and formulate recommendations to state policymakers. Chronic absenteeism has nearly doubled since before the Covid-19, threatening schools’ learning loss recovery efforts. It has long been linked with an increased likelihood of school dropout and negative adult outcomes like poverty and incarceration. In this study, youth researchers created a survey that asked about a constellation of possible explanations for school absences and administered it to nearly 3,000 high school students in over 30 schools across Ohio. Multiple regression models explained about 15% of the overall variance in absenteeism, with the most predictive factors being poor academic achievement, disability, race, distance from school, grade level, mode of transportation, extracurricular involvement, and amount of social media use.

Authors

• Adam Voight, Cleveland State University

• Keith Bell, Ohio State University

• Kayla Butler, Bedford High School

• Nandi Grant, Euclid High School