Description
Chronic student absenteeism is a central issue for school, district, and other stakeholders nationwide. School climate, often described as the quality and characteristics of a school that impact the safe and healthy development of students (e.g., school connectedness, safety, relationships), is an area that may be targeted to address chronic absenteeism; however, research examining the relationship between school climate and chronic absenteeism is limited. The present study examined the relationship between school climate indicators and school-level chronic absenteeism rates, after controlling for important school-level characteristics. The study sample consisted of 85 high schools serving 9-12 grade students in a sub-region of Southern California. Included schools had certified chronic absenteeism rates and had administered the 2016-2017 California Healthy Kids Survey-Core A Module, a student-reported anonymous survey about school climate among other factors. To determine the cross-sectional relationship between school climate indicators and school-level chronic absenteeism, bivariate (i.e., pearson product-moment and spearman rank-order correlation) and multivariate (i.e., multiple linear regression controlling for school-level characteristics) analyses were performed. Results indicated that chronic absenteeism rates among selected high schools reached an average of 18% during the 2016-2017 school year. Disproportionate rates of chronic absenteeism were observed by type of school (e.g., higher in charter and continuation schools). Overall, results suggested that school climate indicators are related to school-level chronic absenteeism rates. Significant negative correlates of school-level chronic absenteeism were school connectedness (b=-0.545, p < 0.01) and school safety (b=-0.456, p < 0.001). These data indicate that high schools in general, and in specific types of high schools, report prevalent chronic absenteeism rates with significant implications for the student, the classroom, and the school. Targeting aspects of a school’s climate such as school connectedness and school safety, through policy and practice changes, may reduce chronic absenteeism rates; longitudinal research is warranted as a next step.
