Executive
summary
School refusal is a type of school
attendance problem characterised by a child or young person’s emotional
distress at attending school.[1] It differs from other forms of school attendance problems in terms of the
distress experienced, and in that parents and carers typically know about their
child’s absence from school and have tried to get them to attend.[2] This distinguishes school refusal from truancy (where
parents or carers are often unaware of their child’s absence), school
withdrawal (where parents may support or encourage their child to stay home),
and school exclusion (which stems from school-based decisions).[3]
Estimates of the prevalence of school refusal in Australian
and international literature are between 1% to 5% of all students.[4] Its prevalence is higher among students with autism spectrum disorders and
attention‑deficit/hyperactivity disorder.[5] Across the world, there have been reports of growing rates of school refusal
following the COVID-19 pandemic.[6] In Australia, school staff, parents and support services report that the
incidence of school refusal has increased following COVID-19 school
disruptions.[7]
In Australia, school attendance has been trending
downwards over a number of years and there was a marked decrease in 2022.[8] In 2022 in Australian schools, the student attendance rate—the percentage of
possible days that students in Years 1–10 attend school—was 86.5% while the
attendance level—the proportion of students in Years 1–10 whose attendance rate
is equal to or greater than 90%—was 49.9%. This is a sizeable drop from 2021,
when the attendance rate was 90.9% and the attendance level was 71.2%. These
measures do not identify different reasons for non-attendance. In international
literature, missing 10% or more of available school days is a common cut-off
point for chronic absenteeism.[9]
A number of complex factors can contribute to school
refusal. These include stressful life events, problems at school with peers or
a teacher, academic difficulties, bullying, illness, and transitions such as
starting or moving school.[10] Young people with school refusal are often diagnosed with anxiety disorders.[11]
School refusal can negatively impact students’ learning
and achievement and place them at risk of leaving school early.[12] School refusal can also have longer term impacts on children and young people’s
social and emotional development and mental health into adulthood.[13] Dealing with a child or young person’s school refusal can be a source of stress
and conflict for families.[14]
Introduction
Following disruptions to schooling from the COVID-19
pandemic, there have been increasing concerns about the rising incidence of school
refusal among Australian students.[15] School refusal is characterised by a child or young person experiencing significant
emotional distress at the idea of going to, or staying at, school.[16] As well as being distressing for the child or young person themselves, it is
also stressful and disruptive for families, teachers and school staff.
This paper discusses school refusal and how it differs from
other types of school attendance problems drawing on international and
Australian literature. It considers its prevalence, as well as the national
data on school attendance available in Australia. School refusal is a complex
and multifaceted problem that can occur for a range of different reasons.
Different factors that can contribute to school refusal are discussed as well
as approaches to address school refusal and absenteeism. Finally, the paper considers
the impacts of school refusal on children and young people in the short term
and longer term, as well as impacts on the classroom more broadly.
What is school refusal?
School refusal is a type of school attendance problem based
on a student’s emotional distress at attending school.[17] Although there are variations
in definitions, features of school refusal include:
- reluctance or refusal to attend school, often resulting in
extended school non-attendance (some definitions include absence thresholds)
- severe emotional upset, which can take various forms, including
fear, anxiety, depression, anger, determined resistance, somatic health
complaints (such as headaches, stomach aches), and sleep disturbance
- staying at home with parents’ or carers’ knowledge
- parental attempts to secure their child’s attendance at school
- absence of significant anti-social disorders.[18]
These features distinguish school refusal from other types
of school attendance problems, such as:
- truancy, whereby children and young people are absent from
school or class without permission, they generally conceal their absences from
their parents, and may show antisocial behaviours
- school withdrawal, whereby absenteeism is mainly motivated
by parent factors, with parents not attempting to get their child to attend
school, or encouraging them not to attend
- school exclusion, which is problematic absenteeism
stemming from school-based decisions, for example, relating to disciplinary
measures, resource allocation, or for school-based performance requirements.[19]
There can be overlaps between the types of school attendance
problems, and children and young people may experience different types of
absenteeism at different times.
There is a spectrum of school refusal behaviour, reflecting
different levels and kinds of absenteeism (Figure 1):
Figure 1 Spectrum
of school refusal behaviour
Source:
Christopher Kearney, Helping School Refusing Children and
Their Parents: A Guide for School-Based Professionals, (New York: Oxford University Press, 2018), 8.
School refusal typically develops along a continuum, with
different expressions over time.[20] Early identification and intervention is crucial, as the more school a student
misses, the harder it is to return to school and the more likely it will be
that they will stay out of school entirely.[21]
School refusal is also sometimes referred to, or used
interchangeably with, terms including ‘School Can’t’, problematic absenteeism,
school avoidance, school reluctance, school phobia and emotion(ally) based
school avoidance (EBSA).[22]
Prevalence
Estimates of the prevalence of school refusal cited in
Australian and international literature are generally between 1% to 5% of all
students.[23] However, there are difficulties capturing school refusal data given the range
of school refusal behaviours (for example, somatic symptoms, lateness, partial
or complete absences), as well as different definitions and different ways of
tracking school absences.[24]
School refusal can occur throughout the range of school
years; however, there tend to be peaks around certain ages (usually between 5–6
years and 10–11 years) and transitions (such as starting primary school or high
school, or moving schools).[25]
Students with autism spectrum disorders (ASD) and
attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) are at higher risk of school
refusal. For example, a study of students in the UK with ASD found that 43% of
students had persistent non-attendance (absent for more than 10% of available
sessions), and that school refusal accounted for 43% of non-attendance.[26] An Australian study
examined reasons for school non-attendance for children on the autism spectrum
and found that 72.6% of responders had persistent absences (3 or more days in a
20-day period), with school reluctance/refusal responsible for the highest
number of half and full days missed in total.[27]
Increased school refusal and the COVID-19 pandemic
Schools, parents and those treating students, such as
psychologists and social workers, report that there have been increases in the
prevalence of school refusal in Australia following disruptions to schooling
due to the COVID-19 pandemic.[28] For example:
Bayside School Refusal Clinic director John Chellew said he
had noticed a "significant increase" in referrals since the COVID-19
lockdowns in Melbourne last year.
"Statistics were saying between 2 and 5 per cent of
children, up until last year, were school refusing. That then doubled last
year," Mr Chellew said.
"Anecdotally, now we are thinking about the statistics
trebling."[29]
Trends of increasing school refusal following the COVID-19
pandemic have also been reported in other countries.[30] For example, a short report published by the United Kingdom Office for
Standards in Education, Children’s Services and Skills (Ofsted) in February
2022 examined aspects of school attendance and how schools approach challenges
of persistent absence.[31] The report noted that many schools were experiencing higher than average
absences due to COVID-19, both directly—for example, due to student illness—and
indirectly—for example, due to parents’ and students’ anxieties. Successive
national lockdowns had contributed to social anxiety for some.[32]
On 27 October 2022, the Australian Senate referred the issue
of the national trend of school refusal and related matters to the Education
and Employment References Committee for inquiry and report.[33] Following an extension of the Committee’s reporting date, the Committee is due
to report by 21 June 2023.[34]
School
attendance in Australia
In Australia, school attendance is compulsory, typically
from the age of 5–6 until age 17.[35] State and territory legislation sets out age ranges for compulsory schooling,
as well as attendance requirements for students of compulsory school age.
School attendance for Australian students in Years 1–10 is
reported by the Australian Curriculum, Assessment and Reporting Authority
(ACARA) via the National
Report on Schooling in Australia—Data Portal. The Key Performance Measures
(KPMs) for attendance, as specified in the Measurement Framework
for Schooling in Australia, are ‘attendance rate’ and ‘attendance
level’:
Key Performance Measure 1(b) Attendance rate. The
number of actual full-time equivalent student-days attended by full-time
students in Years 1-10 in Semester 1 as a percentage of the total number of
possible student-days attended in Semester 1.
Key Performance Measure 1(c) Attendance level. The
proportion of full time students in Years 1-10 whose attendance rate in
Semester 1 is equal to or greater than 90 per cent.[36]
The measures do not differentiate reasons for
non-attendance. Furthermore, these figures do not include the number of ‘detached
students’, young people of compulsory school age who are not enrolled in a
formal education program of any type. A 2019 report estimated conservatively
that the number of detached students across Australia was 50,000.[37]
Chronic absenteeism occurs when students miss too much
school.[38] A common cut-off point in international literature for chronic absenteeism is
10%; that is, students with attendance rates below 90% for any reason are
considered as chronically absent.[39] In Australia, this equates to approximately 20 or more days absent in a year.[40] The KPMs reflect
this cut-off.
In 2022 in Australian schools, the student attendance rate
was 86.5% while the attendance level was 49.9%.[41] This is a sizeable drop from 2021, when the attendance rate was 90.9% and the
attendance level was 71.2%. Attendance data for 2020 was not published due to
inconsistencies in the data relating to the COVID-19 pandemic.
ACARA’s data portal notes that:
Attendance rates in Semester 1 2022 declined due to the
impact of the COVID-19 Omicron variant and high Influenza season outbreaks and
floods in certain regions experienced across Australia at that time.[42]
The following figures show time series student attendance
rates and attendance levels from 2014 and 2015 to 2022.
Figure 2 Student attendance rate for Years 1–10
students in all schools in Australia, time series
Source:
Australian Curriculum, Assessment and Reporting Authority (ACARA), ‘Student Attendance’, National Report on Schooling in
Australia—Data Portal, Time Series.
Figure 3 Student attendance level for Years 1–10
students in all schools in Australia, time series
Source: ACARA,
‘Student Attendance’, National Report on Schooling in
Australia—Data Portal, Time Series.
Attendance
trends
Attendance tends to vary across years of schooling,
with schools experiencing a drop in attendance as students advance through the
years from Year 3 to Year 10.[43] The biggest drops occur between years 7 and 10. In 2022:
- the attendance rate was 87.3% for Year 7 students, falling to
82.9% for Year 10 students
- the attendance level was 52.7% for Year 7 students, falling to
41.6% for Year 10 students.[44]
Attendance also differs by location, with school
attendance declining as geographical remoteness increases.[45] In 2022:
- the attendance rate for students in Years 1–10 in major cities
was 87.5% compared with 63.1% in very remote areas
- the attendance level for students in Years 1–10 in major cities
was 52.4% compared with only 19.7% for students in very remote areas.[46]
There is also a gap in school attendance between Indigenous
and non-Indigenous students in Australia.[47] In 2022:
- the attendance rate for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander
students across Australia was 74.5% compared with 87.4% for non-Indigenous
students
- the attendance level for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander
students was 26.6% compared with 51.5% for non-Indigenous students.[48]
There are also differences in school attendance across
Australia by school sector, with independent schools tending to have the
highest attendance rates and levels and government schools the lowest. In 2022
for students in Years 1–10:
- government schools had an attendance rate of 85.6% and an
attendance level of 48.2%
- Catholic schools had an attendance rate of 87.9% and an
attendance level of 50.5%
- independent schools had an attendance rate of 88.8% and an
attendance level of 55.6%.[49]
However, there is variation across the states and
territories (see Figures 4 and 5). For example, in 2022 for students in Years
1–10:
- the attendance level for Catholic schools in WA (60.0%) was the
highest of the sectors while it was the lowest of the sectors in the ACT
(33.8%) and NT (35.4%)
- the attendance level for government schools in Victoria (54.4%)
was the second highest of the sectors in the state and 10.1 percentage points
higher than government schools in NSW (with a larger gap for ACT and NT government
schools).
Figure 4 Student attendance rate by state/territory for
Years 1–10, 2022
Source: ACARA,
‘Student Attendance’, National Report on Schooling in
Australia—Data Portal, School Sector by State/Territory.
Figure 5 Student attendance level by state/territory
for Years 1–10, 2022
Source: ACARA, ‘Student Attendance’, National Report on Schooling in
Australia—Data Portal, School Sector by State/Territory.
Drivers of
school refusal
School refusal is complex and multifactorial. It is
associated with a range of risk factors, including individual traits,
socio-economic conditions, family structure, the school environment and society
more broadly. Factors that can contribute to school refusal include:
- stressful life events
- major transitions such as starting primary or secondary school
- moving or other big change
- fear of harm coming to a parent
- illness in the family
- separation and divorce
- academic problems
- overprotective parenting
- friendship difficulties
- separation anxiety.[50]
There are different conceptualisations of school refusal.
For example, school refusal can be understood as a symptom of an underlying
mental illness or disorder. Young people exhibiting school refusal are often
diagnosed with anxiety disorders, such as generalised anxiety disorder,
separation anxiety disorder, panic disorders and/or social anxiety, with 50% to
80% of children or young people with school refusal meeting criteria for one or
more such disorders.[51]
School refusal has also been characterised in terms of
underlying motivations. For example, school refusal can be understood as being
driven by negative reinforcement whereby students avoid situations that prompt
unpleasant or anxious feelings (such as separation from caregivers, social
interactions or academic requirements like a test or presentation), or aversive
situations (such as bullying).[52] On the other hand, school refusal can also be understood as being driven by
positive reinforcement, whereby students are motivated to stay home to get
attention from parents, or to do activities at home that they find more
enjoyable, such as watching television, social media or sleeping. School
refusal can be motivated by a mixture of both positive and negative
reinforcement.[53]
A criticism of bio-medical models is that they tend to
locate school refusal and distress as problems with individual students and
families and can reinforce negative stereotypes and deficit perceptions.[54] Increasingly, the
importance of factors relating to young people’s life experiences and school
factors are being recognised, with school refusal seen ‘as signals that all is
not well in the young person’s world’.[55]
Research literature often groups drivers or risk factors for
school attendance/absence into 4 domains: the individual, the family, the
school and the broader community. A summary of these groupings as outlined in Problematic
School Absenteeism—Improving Systems and Tools (a collaborative Nordic
project funded by the European Union’s Erasmus+) is provided below:
Individual factors
- psychological problems, for example, anxiety or depression
- developmental disorders, such as ASD or ADHD
- physical health, such as chronic illness
- substance abuse
- (undetected) learning disabilities.
Family factors
- family structure, functioning and parenting style
- socio-economic disadvantage
- parental physical or mental health problems
- low parental involvement in schooling
- overprotective parenting style.
School factors
- poor classroom management, for example, lack of classroom order
and poor structuring of instruction and/or of social interactions between
students
- failure to prevent or manage bullying, social isolation,
unpredictability at school
- school transitions, for example, due to changes between schools,
starting a new school year or returning after a holiday period
- changes in pedagogical practices, for example, going from one
primary teacher to subject‑specific teaching.
Community factors
- society-wide pressure on students to achieve academically
- perceptions of threats, such as school shootings or terrorism
- neighbourhood characteristics, such as poverty, and structural
barriers, such as lack of transport infrastructure or living in remote
locations.[56]
Consequences of long-term infrequent school attendance
Schools are important for students’ development socially and
academically. As such, school absences can have short and long-term negative
impacts on children and young people’s essential competencies, including
socio-emotional competences, and literacy and numeracy skills.[57]
Without treatment, school refusal can have negative impacts
on students’ learning and achievement, as well as placing these students at
risk of dropping out of school early.[58] Students refusing school are also more likely to experience problems in social
adjustment and to have ongoing mental health problems in late adolescence and
adulthood.[59]
The crisis-like presentation of school refusal can cause
distress for parents and family conflict as they manage the challenge.[60] School refusal
may also negatively impact on teaching and school staff due to stress and
uncertainty in how to manage the problem and in strained relationships with
families.[61]
International literature has also highlighted negative
effects associated with school non‑attendance over the longer term. For
example, various forms of school attendance problems have been associated with
poor health outcomes, marital and psychiatric problems, non-violent crime and
substance use, and occupational problems and economic deprivation later in life.[62]
Impact of school absences on academic performance
A report commissioned by the Australian Government
Department of Education, Employment and Workplace Relations (DEEWR) in 2012 examined
the relationship between school attendance and students’ academic performance.
The study used data collected about students in government schools in Western
Australia, including attendance records and results from the National
Assessment Program—Literacy and Numeracy (NAPLAN). It found:
average academic achievement on NAPLAN tests declined with
any absence from school and continued to decline as absence rates increased.
The nature of the relationship between absence from school and achievement, across
all sub-groups of students strongly suggests that every day of attendance in
school contributes towards a child’s learning, and that academic outcomes are
enhanced by maximising attendance in school. There is no “safe” threshold.[63]
The report noted that the effects of absences accumulate
over time.
The study found that unauthorised absences (absences that
are unexplained or where the reason is not deemed acceptable by the school principal)
had a significantly stronger association with achievement than authorised
absences (absences for which a legitimate reason for the absence is given, such
as illness), with even small amounts of unauthorised absence associated with
substantial falls in average NAPLAN test scores. The authors suggested that
unauthorised absences could reflect possible behavioural and school engagement
issues, rather than just time away from school.[64]
The report observed some students were more adversely
affected by absences than others, with gaps in achievement evident for students
depending on where they live, their socio-economic status, and Indigenous
status at all levels of attendance.[65] More advantaged students had relatively high levels of achievement irrespective
of their levels of school attendance.[66]
Impact of school refusal on the classroom
The negative impacts of school absenteeism and school
refusal are predominantly discussed in terms of impacts on the child or young
person themselves. However, school refusal and chronic absenteeism can have
spillover effects on other students’ academic achievement and can negatively
affect teachers and school staff. This section discusses secondary impacts of
school refusal and chronic absenteeism.
Chronic absenteeism not only affects the student who misses
school but can potentially reduce outcomes for classmates. A study of student
results from an urban elementary school in the US examined the spillover
effects of chronic absenteeism on classmates’ achievement.[67] The author hypothesised that
extreme rates of absenteeism could slow the regular pace of classroom
instruction as highly absent students would require significant remediation
efforts and classroom management efforts from teachers when returning to class.
The study found evidence that having a greater proportion of chronically absent
classmates was associated with lower achievement across reading and
mathematics.
School refusal can cause stress for teachers and school
staff and can have a negative impact on relationships between teachers and
students and families. Teachers and principals interviewed as part of a
qualitative study from Ireland reported feeling responsible for assisting
students who had been absent to catch up, which took time away from other
students in the class.[68] Teachers felt stress and frustration at the disruption to class dynamics of
students returning and pressure to see students complete project components or
examinations.
Cases of school refusal may also require school staff to
liaise with a diverse array of support services, such as child protection and
family support services, social work and psychological services.[69] This can be a
source of stress as participants negotiate what the role and duty of schools
should be, and what should be the responsibility of other services and
providers.[70]
Addressing school refusal and absenteeism
Given the complex nature of school refusal, approaches aimed
at assisting children and young people to return to school need to be
multilayered and flexible.[71] Identifying the factors contributing to a student’s school refusal is important
for determining the resources that might be employed to address the problem.
The resources that are available to a child or young person
to address school refusal may not be equally accessible. Although school
refusal cuts across social class divides, families with ‘greater social,
cultural, financial capital tend to have the necessary resources to manage the
situation and ensure a positive outcome’.[72] Families from higher socio-economic backgrounds may have more choice in
accessing assessment services and therapeutic supports.[73]
Federalism may also pose complications for developing
national approaches to school refusal in Australia. States and territories have
overarching responsibility for schools in their jurisdictions. While the Australian
Government plays a role in providing funding for schools and participating
in national policy decisions with states and territories, it does not own or
manage any schools.[74]
This section discusses multitiered approaches to addressing
school attendance and briefly considers the (in)effectiveness of punitive
approaches.
Multitiered
approach to absenteeism
Many resources on addressing school refusal and student
absenteeism advocate for a multitiered approach.[75] Christopher Kearney’s 2016
book, Managing School
Absenteeism at Multiple Tiers: An Evidence-Based and Practical Guide for
Professionals, outlines strategies for addressing problematic
absenteeism organised into 3 tiers (see Figure 6 below). The tiers represent
increasing severity of absenteeism and intervention:
- Tier 1: universal prevention—approaches focus on functioning and
school-wide attendance and on preventing absenteeism for all students
- Tier 2: targeted early intervention—approaches focus on
addressing students with emerging, acute, or mild to moderate school
absenteeism
- Tier 3: intensive later intervention—approaches focus on
addressing students with chronic and severe school absenteeism.
Figure 6 A
multitier model for problematic school absenteeism
Source:
Christopher Kearney, Managing School Absenteeism at Multiple Tiers: An
Evidence-Based and Practical Guide for Professionals, (New York: Oxford
University Press, 2016), 16.
Implementing strategies to improve attendance requires
adequate resourcing and system supports (see Figure 7).
Figure 7 Enablers
for implementing strategies to improve attendance and establish a positive
attendance culture in schools
Source: CESE, Understanding Attendance, 36.
Recent media articles on school refusal have reported the
challenges schools face in managing students refusing school, including
shortages of specialist knowledge, allied health, and psychological and
counselling services.[76] For example,
media articles have reported shortages of school counsellors and psychologists
in schools, such as an October 2022 report in The
Guardian of a ‘dire shortage’ of school counsellors in NSW, with
figures obtained showing that there was one counsellor for every 650 students
across the state.[77]
The Australian Psychological Society’s framework
for the provision of effective psychological services in schools recommends
a ratio of one psychologist to 500 students, based on data from United Nations
countries and best practice.[78] The 2021 Gallop inquiry, commissioned by the NSW Teachers Federation,
recommended providing school counsellors:
on the basis of at least 1:500 students and a corresponding
increase in senior psychologists [sic] education by 2023 to address the
significant increase in student mental health issues[79]
Punitive
approaches
Research does not indicate that punitive approaches to
school attendance are effective in improving attendance as they do not address
the root cause of attendance problems.[80] As school attendance is compulsory in Australia, not attending school can
result in legal penalties for families, and/or the possible involvement of
child protection services.[81] However, there is no evidence to suggest that fines or court orders improve attendance
for individual students.[82]
At the family level, some have argued for parents to employ a
stricter disciplinary approach to dealing with their child’s school refusal.
For example, Victorian Shadow Minister for Education Matthew Bach stated in an
opinion piece:
School refusal stems from anxiety, which – as we know – is a
serious mental health condition. And because of this, parents naturally
empathise deeply with their children. Yet what the growing number of children
who refuse to attend school need most is tough love. Going to school must
simply be non‑negotiable.[83]
However, authoritarian approaches can negatively impact children
refusing to go to school.[84] Negative family processes, including intrusive and constraining parental control
and harsh and corporal punishment, increase the likelihood of school
absenteeism and dropout, while positive family processes, including parental
support and monitoring, acceptance, clear boundaries and granting of autonomy decrease
the likelihood of school absenteeism and dropout.[85] As such, interventions aimed at increasing positive family process,
particularly in primary school, and decreasing negative family processes,
particularly in secondary school, may be beneficial to address school absenteeism.[86]
Conclusion
COVID-19 caused massive social disruptions across the world.
In Australia, governments and school systems responded to the unfolding
pandemic by introducing measures such as school closures, pupil free days, remote
learning, and relaxing attendance requirements.[87] In addition to the pandemic, many students across Australia have been impacted in
the last few years by natural disasters, including bushfires and floods. These
situations have created contexts rich in the risk factors identified as
contributing to school refusal, such as stressful life events or big changes,
school transitions, family illness or fear of harm coming to a parent, and friendship
difficulties.
While there are increasing concerns about the rising incidence
of school refusal, there are challenges in understanding the extent of the
problem. Across Australia, the national attendance rate and attendance level
have been trending downwards for a number of years, with a particularly
noticeable decline in both measures in 2022. In 2022, less than half of
students attended school for 90% or more of available school days in Semester
1. Put another way, more than half of students across Australia were
chronically absent from school in 2022. The national data also show differences
in attendance according to years of schooling, geography, indigeneity, and
school sectors. There is also substantial variation across the states and
territories in terms of attendance. While these figures do not provide insight
into the reasons for school non-attendance, such as school refusal, they do
point to wider problems of absenteeism.
Greater understanding of the reasons for student absenteeism
may allow school communities to better address the needs of students who are
refusing school, or who are otherwise disengaged or at risk of disengaging. At
a broader level, research into the reasons for variation between the states and
territories may also shed light on factors contributing to higher or lower school
attendance. In February 2023, Education Ministers commissioned the Australian
Education Research Organisation to investigate the causes of declining
attendance and provide advice to Ministers on evidence-based approaches that
support attendance.[88] It will also be vital to ensure that schools have the resources available to
assist students’ return to the classroom, to support student wellbeing and
mental health, and to ensure that there are avenues to enable students to
continue to learn.