Is Chronic Absenteeism the Quiet Quitting of Students?
On Saturday morning, Jenny Dieterle and I were enjoying coffee and the beautiful spring weather in Washington, DC. As we were going through our mail, she remarked on the cover of the current issue of Ed. Magazine, "Is chronic absenteeism the quiet quitting of students?"
The term "quiet quitting" describes employees who do the bare minimum to get by, disengaging from going above and beyond. A similar phenomenon may be happening in schools, where chronic absenteeism, could be the student version of quiet quitting.
Just like quiet quitters, chronically absent students aren't necessarily dropping out entirely. They show up physically, but they're not fully present or engaged. They miss key information, fall behind in coursework, and struggle to develop strong relationships with teachers and peers. This can lead to a vicious cycle of discouragement and further absenteeism.
Chronic absenteeism in schools, often described as students missing 10% or more of school days in a year, has been shown to have significant impacts on student achievement and graduation rates. Research compiled by Attendance Works has revealed that:
Reasons Why Chronic Absenteeism is More Than Just Skipping Class
Following the COVID-19 pandemic, the United States has seen an alarming rise in chronic absenteeism, with the number of students missing more than 10% of the school year doubling from 8 million to 16 million. Experts attribute this "attendance crisis" to a shift in norms and expectations, a more lenient attitude towards absences, and student burnout, disengagement, and mental health.
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Strategies to Re-Engage Students
To combat the silent disconnect of chronic absenteeism, schools and families can employ a multi-pronged approach:
A Shared Responsibility
Chronic absenteeism is a complex issue with no easy answers. However, educators, policymakers, parents, and the community can work together to create a more supportive and engaging learning environment by recognizing the parallels with quiet quitting. By addressing the root causes of disengagement and providing targeted support, we can empower students to be fully present and reach their full potential.
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5 个月There is a zilch connection between “quiet quitting”. People employed earning a paycheck choosing to quit for a better opportunity or just dumb joking the crowd. And chronic absenteeism and truancy from K-12 education system. Chronic absenteeism leads to everything bad—drugs, guns, gangs, theft—and is a result of parents that do not pay attention to their kids. There is some relationship between chronic absenteeism and and the research indicating students can’t read or write to grade level. Plus chronically absent students hurt the academic performance of the students that show up everyday ready to learn. Forces the instructor to teach to the lowest level student.
CEO, Social Optics - Bridging Research to Action for Neurodivergent Students | Speaker on Neurodivergence, Communication, Soft Skills
5 个月My youngest daughter, who just finished her junior year in high school, and I were talking about this yesterday. Her attendance was in the 'red' at risk zone on Powerschool this year. We were also talking about Jonathan Haidt's book, The Anxious Generation, which we both read. Mom and daughter takeaways...1) you need to feel safe in class, 2) you have to be able to connect the 'now' to the 'later' - the light at the end of the tunnel, and 3) relationships with teachers MATTER - you may skip a class that is stressful but at least stay in school if you know your 4th period teacher is one who is truly happy to see you and knows you. I'd love to know what the current definition of 'engaging' is from adults; I'm not sure it's the same definition as the one from the students who are 'quiet quitting.'
To stretch the concept further…is chronic negative value-add growth data by some teachers a version of quiet quitting? Do the bare minimum to get by, disengaging from going above and beyond.
Competitive & Government Research Analyst
5 个月Interesting insight. I can tell you in my worst year of the last 4 years from my teen, I did not have an answer when he said why should I go to school when they are just going to direct us to work on the computer and not teach.
Leading a team of designers, applied researchers and educators to build the future of learning and assessment.
5 个月Ed Dieterle -- I've been reflection on your piece, and what I might add to the *stone soup*. When school doors closed in New York, we moved to reopen 5-days a week for all students who selected that option by August 2020 at Brooklyn LAB schools. This was 8-9 months earlier than peers. To make this work, we made sure every student had access to a “success coach,” a trusted adult who can ensure each student has the support they need to learn and grow. We worked to build the capacity of adults on our staff—not only our teachers, but also support staff, administrators, and teaching fellows—to be the primary support people for designated sets of students. In training the coaches, we worked to ensure they could tailor their support for students from different contexts and cultures, use a strength-based approach, and work with students and families to remove any barriers to learning. We also considered how success coaches can help students and families grappling with loss of learning, social and emotional impacts, nutritional insecurity, loss of parental income, and lack of access to essential services. There isn't one 100% solution to chronic absenteeism. But?there are 100 one percent solutions, each?person-specific.