Poor Attendance In Saskatchewan Schools

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Poor Attendance in Saskatchewan Schools

What is poor attendance? Why is it a policy concern?

Poor school attendance is a policy concern because it a red flag for serious problems in families and communities. It is also a predictor of poor educational outcomes and less opportunity for the next generation of students to improve their lives.

This policy blueprint will outline a multi-sectoral strategy to support school-age children and their parents so that absenteeism is no longer a problem. This strategy will require broad-based consultation and consensus-building on goals and appropriate actions, agreement to measure and share information on youth risk factors, and reporting back to schools and families on changes in outcome measures. With …show more content…

No one Ministry or sector has the scope or expertise to address all of these enablers. However, when Ministries and partners work together to contribute to all of these enabling conditions, a coherent strategy can emerge. Motivated by clear goals, parents, families, communities, community-based organizations and public institutions are better able to commit to specific actions, and willing to measure progress toward the goals.

Elaborate on barriers and enablers, survey of research

Background

Saskatchewan has collected student attendance data from school divisions since 2013. Data shows that the majority of Saskatchewan children attend school more than 80% of the time. Student absenteeism tends to be more of a problem in grades 10 and up.

The difference between First Nations and Metis students (in the provincial school system) and non-First Nations and Metis students is pronounced. 70% of non-FNMI students attended school regularly in grade 12, compared to only 42% of FNMI students. This correlates with lower high school completion rates by FNMI students.

In other jurisdictions such as United States, Australia and New Zealand, school attendance has been tracked for a much longer period of time, with particular attention to variance in attendance of disadvantaged groups.

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Historical factors

Policy …show more content…

From research on risk factors, it is easy to see why problematic school attendance is not a problem that can be tackled by the school system alone. Factors that have a statistical correlation with low school attendance include family income, parenting practices, family and community assets. Many of these factors are the same ones tracked by Ministries working for prevention of crime, sickness or self-harm.

Research shows that although school attendance tends to fall off at times of school transition (especially transition to high school), the factors that predict lack of school engagement start much earlier. Research also shows that program starting with young children are more likely to get a positive response from families and the children themselves.

Integrate service

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