school non-attendence Flashcards
1
Q
persistent absentees
A
attendance less that 90%
2
Q
severe absentees
A
attendance less than 50%
3
Q
anna freud centre on prevalence of persistent absence
further reading
A
- in Autum 2021, 1 in 4 children were persistently absent
- in 2018/2019, this figure was 1 in 9 - meaning that persistent absence has more than doubled in the time period
4
Q
square peg CIC on prevalence of persistently absent groups
further reading
A
- 36% of those with an EHCP
- 31% receiving SEN support
- 35% receiving free school meals
- 46% young carers
5
Q
early typology of non-attendance
A
- blagg (1987)
- school phobia
- truancy
- other poor attenders
6
Q
school phobia
blagg (1987)
A
- severe difficulties with attendance
- high levels of emotional distress - anxiety
- parents often know the child is at home
- no other anti-social problems
- fearful of coming to school
7
Q
truancy
blagg (1987)
A
- absent but without good reason
- no evidence of emotional distress
- parents unaware or unable to exert influence
- often child not at home
critical evaluation: is there different ways that children show emotional distress
8
Q
school refusal behaviours
recent distinctions
A
- “child motivated refusal to attend school or difficulties remaining in school for the entire day” (Kearney & Silberman, 1999)
- school refusal (AKA emotionally-based school avoidance)
- truancy - absence without good reason or permission
- school withdrawal - absence motivated, initiated or condoned by parents
9
Q
school refusal/EBSA
A
- reduced attendance or attending with significant reluctance e.g. a spectrum (Kearney, 2006)
- emotional distress connected with learning or social factors
10
Q
EBSA not just meaning not attending school - anna freud centre
further reading
A
- not going to classroom
- not staying in class
- not attending some lessons
- avoiding some lessons
11
Q
linking EBSA to mental health
A
- associated with emotional regulation problems, negative thinking, low self-efficacy, and somatic complains (Ingul et al., 2019)
- anxiety is evoked by going to school (Thambirajah et al., 2008)
- perhaps: if children didn’t feel anxious, they would go to school?
12
Q
linking truancy to mental health
A
- child is absent ‘without good reason’ (Havik & Ingul, 2021)
- associated with disaffection & externalising beh
- could potentially be quite disruptive in lessons
13
Q
using flooding to reduce non-attendance
A
make child come to school, see it isn’t that bad, ethical issues in making child come into school for 8 hours in a really distressing situation for them.
Tends not to work as overwhelming and tends to make it worse
14
Q
using systematic desensitisation to reduce non-attendance
A
build up time in school step by step, phased reintegration to school, more success. Stand at gates –> meet key adults –> reception –> areas that are safe…
15
Q
manipulating reinforcement factors to reduce non-attendance
A
make school a positive experience (do fun stuff, rewards), but also reduced positive experiences at home (e.g. limit access to video games during school hours), quite a bit of success
16
Q
developing coping through behaviourist ideas
non-attendance
A
- gulliford & miller (2023)
- CC: flooding, systematic desensitisation
- OC: manipulating reinforcement factors
- small scale studies & professional experience provides evidence for effectiveness
17
Q
resolving anxiety through psychotherapy
A
- addressing the anxiety, primarily, through mental health services
- individual psychotherapy - slow & not supportive of a rapid return
- if low attendance in school, the likelihood of getting the child to the therapy regularly is also quite low
- family therapy has mixed ev for anxiety disorders generally (Carr, 2009)
18
Q
CBT for non-attendance
A
- how has the child’s experiences shaped their thoughts, feelings and beh toward school? - Heyne et al. (2005)
- combining cog restructuring (thinking differently) & coping skills
- widely accepted as a helpful tool - King & Bernstein (2001)
- anxiety in terms of anxious thinking (internal feelings) body sensations which lead to beh (in this case avoiding school)
- teaching them to regulate physiological responses to anxiety
19
Q
issues with CBT for non-attendance
A
- high rates of persistent anxiety after psychotherapy - will still feel anxious, CBT is a tool for managing the distress
- ~60% of children show little improvement in attendance - not just the distress
- outcomes seem stronger with younger children
20
Q
4 functions of non-attendance
kearney & silverman (1990)
A
- avoidance of negative affect
- escape from social and/or evaluative situation
- pursuit of attention, or reduction of separation anxiety
- pursuit of tangible reinforcement
these are the textbook explanations for kearney & silverman’s four functions
21
Q
how do we account for complexity?
non-attendance
A
- school refusal “is produced by many contributing factors rather than a single cause” - Knage (2021)
- ecological approaches consider the interaction between the child & factors in their envs
- using functional formulations to guide intervention
22
Q
systematic integrated cognitive approach to non-attendance
havik & ingul (2021)
A
- interaction between the child’s personal qualities & appraisal of stressors in the environment
- ev that some personal factors raise vulnerability e.g. neurodivergence
- activation of new coping strategies when stress outweighs coping resources
- for some children, coping might mean avoidance of school - even when school isn’t the source of stress
- through school avoidance, risk of school alienation might rise
23
Q
ecology of school refusal
A
- child, school, home interplaying factors
- need to consider that child develops within multiple systems
- bioecologicalmodel of development (Bronfenbrenner & Morris, 2007)
- push and pull factors - tipping point
ingul et al. (2019), melvin et al. (2019)
24
Q
bioecological model of development
bronfenbrenner & morris (2007)
A
dev = child + process + context
25
school factors impacting school refusal
* school 'climate' associated w/ SR (Brewer-Borghuis et al., 2019)
* order, safety and discipline
* academic outcomes
* social relationships
* supportive school facilities
* school connectedness
26
order, safety and discipline
| impact on school refusal
* schools that lack psychological and physical safety (Havik et al., 2014)
* bullying and disruption: being grouped with troubled or disaffected pupils (Lauchlan, 2003)
* monitoring of unstructured areas
## Footnote
link to bullying and behaviour management lecture
27
academic outcomes
| impact on school refusal
* academic difficulties or anxiety about academic performance
* lack of attuned academic support leading to stress
* academic pressures can make the school feel psychologically unsafe
## Footnote
link to instructional psychology lecture
28
social relationships
| impact on school refusal
* frequency and quality of peer contact - links to resilience
* formal, impersonal or hostile teachers (Lauclan, 2003) - need to find a good balance
29
supportive school facilities
| impact on school refusal
* limited research
* school size, layout and levels of social and sensory stimulation (Archer et al., 2003; Havik et al., 2004)
30
school connectedness
| impact on school refusal
a sense of adults in schools appreciating the child or believing in them (Nuttall & Woods, 2013)
## Footnote
link to mental health lecture
31
what did the textbook say on school-focused interventions
## Footnote
further reading
* a positive school climate can positively correlate with attainment and outcome for students (Tomaszewski et al., 2020)
* educational adaptations may include off-site alternative educational provision (Brouwer-Borghuis et al., 2019)
* the intensity and cost of such programmes, in terms of human resources, should not be overlooked, and the responsibilities upon school staff can be considerable
32
family factors impacting non-attendance
* parents often describe feeling blamed (Lissack & Boyle, 2022) - can lead to low supportive or punitive responses
* lots of potential factors but mixed ev: parental mental health and self-efficacy; unhealthy or problematic family functioning; traumatic experiences; older parents; being youngest of several siblings
* parental mental health, poor family functioning and overprotection seem to have strongest evidence as contributory factors
33
textbook on family interventions
## Footnote
further reading
* mixed evidence (Heyne, 2022)
* often address the contingencies (e.g. rewards) for non-attendance
* problem-solve with their child
34
risk factors of non-attendance
| leduc et al. (2022)
* school factors
* family factors
* personal factors
* interaction of all of them
35
personal factors impacting non-attendance
| leduc et al. (2022)
* age (especially seen at 5/6, 11/12 and 13/14)
* fear of failure or poor self-confidencce
* developmental diffs, especially if unidentified or unsupported
* trauma
* poor emotional skills
36
responding to school refusal: ecological approaches
* multi-systemic intervention
* turning things around: the case for preventive approaches
37
multi-systemic intervention
* five-factor model: the child, family, peer group, school, and community (Kearney, 2008)
* compatible with other approaches, especially functional assessment and cognitive-behavioural approaches
* but not without challenge
38
the case for preventive approaches
* school improvement and dev work
* reactionary support is expensive and labour intensive (Chu et al., 2019; Ingul et al., 2019)
39
alternative education provisions
* when attempts at reintegration have failed
* often derived from school climate and SR experiences
* supportive, small-scale studies (Brewer-Borghuis et al., 2019): calm envs, low threat schoolwork, supporting positive interactions, gradual return to mainstream
40
outcomes for YP who display EBSA
| west sussex council
## Footnote
further reading
* poor academic attainment
* reduced social opportunities
* limited employment opportunities
* poor adult mental health
41
textbook on consequences of non-attendance
## Footnote
further reading
* lowered learning and attainment --> potential for reduced career options (Elliot & Place, 2019)
* risk factor for self-harm and other behaviours associated with adolescence e.g. risky sexual behaviours or substance use (Kearney, 2008)
* increased risk of marital, occupational and economic difficulties, anxiety disorders, depression, alcoholism and antisocial behaviour (Kearney et al., 2019)
42
barriers leading to EBSA often related to
| not fine in school CIC
## Footnote
further reading
* unmet SEND
* physical or mental illness
* bullying & assault
* trauma
* excessive academic pressure, overly strict behaviour policies
* a missing sense of belonging
* irrelevant curriculum
