This may or may not be news to you, but teenagers feel that school can be boring, pointless or too long, so they’ll skip it altogether. What can leaders do to curb chronic absenteeism in their own schools?
Nearly 20% of teens self-reported experiencing chronic absenteeism by missing more than 15 days of school last year, according to a new national survey from education nonprofit EdChoice. The majority of these absences are a result of illnesses or doctor’s appointments, the research affirms.
However, nearly 70% of teens agree that “school is boring” to at least some degree. Similarly, another 40% disagree with the statement “I like going to school.” Almost two-thirds of students say they’d prefer some version of hybrid schooling, preferably in-person four days a week.
Here are some other reasons teens choose to be chronically absent:
- School is too stressful (43%)
- Their parents don’t care about their attendance (34%)
- They’re being bullied at school (29%)
- They fear for their safety (12%)
So what would it take to improve their perceptions of the school experience and reduce chronic absenteeism? Here are four recommendations from the students themselves:
- More learning activities should be focused on building life skills (57% agree)
- Provide better access to mental health services (54% agree)
- There should be more extracurricular opportunities (52% agree)
- Implement more efforts to reduce bullying (51% agree)
Take a look at the full survey here for additional data surrounding teens’ perspectives on cell phone bans, social media and their postsecondary aspirations.
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