What about the Parents? Exploring Perspectives on the Causes and Handling of Chronic Absenteeism among Middle School Parents in South Carolina

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Middle School Students; Parents; Attendance Patterns; Student Behavior; Behavior Problems; Parent Child Relationship; Influences; Parent Attitudes; School Role; Incidence

979-83-8226-168-3

The South Carolina laws that mandate regular school attendance place the responsibility on parents to ensure compliance. South Carolina still uses punitive measures to address chronic absenteeism, meaning schools can refer students to law enforcement to face criminal truancy charges and jail time. Their parent(s) can also face criminal consequences by having to pay fines. The purpose of this phenomenological study was to explore perspectives of middle school (grades 6-8) parents to understand what they believe were causes of chronic absenteeism, how they felt about school responses, and to hear their recommendations for improvements. Because the state laws task each school district with creating procedures to address chronic absenteeism, responses to such absenteeism vary by district, which means the level of parental involvement/engagement also varies. With so much responsibility resting upon parents to ensure that students attend school regularly, this research focused on the perspectives of parents whose middle schoolers experienced chronic absenteeism. This study used snowball sampling to gain insight from parents. A screening survey was used to determine eligibility and 11 parents were eligible to participate. Semi-structured interviews with open-ended questions were conducted in-person or online via Zoom to collect data. Data saturation occurred after six interviews. Data analysis occurred through thematic analysis with a deductive approach and NVivo 14 software was used to determine which themes emerged. The participants revealed common themes related to the root causes and contributors of chronic absenteeism related to Bronfenbrenner's Ecological Systems Theory that included the student, schools, parents/family, as well as the community. This study found that parents desired more proactive approaches to addressing chronic absenteeism. School districts can utilize the results of this study to examine their policies/procedures and increase parental engagement to address chronic absenteeism. [The dissertation citations contained here are published with the permission of ProQuest LLC. Further reproduction is prohibited without permission. Copies of dissertations may be obtained by Telephone (800) 1-800-521-0600. Web page: http://www.proquest.com/en-US/products/dissertations/individuals.shtml.]

As Provided

2024

ED651870