| Summary Note |
The Committee made the following observations with respect to the drivers of school refusal: "The drivers of school refusal are difficult to disentangle from the drivers of other attendance problems and school disengagement more broadly. For example, research suggests that the drivers of school refusal are complex, multifactorial and associated with risk factors that include 'individual traits, socio-economic conditions, family structure, the school environment and society more broadly' ... This appears to align with the research literature on school absence, which groups risk factors into the following four domains: [1] individual factors – including psychological problems, developmental disorders, physical health, substance abuse, and learning disabilities; [2] family factors – including family structure, functioning and parenting style, socio-economic disadvantage, parental physical or mental health problems, low parental involvement in schooling, and overprotective parenting style; [3] school factors – including school transitions, changes in pedagogical practices (such as going from a single primary teacher to subject-specific teaching); poor classroom management, and failure to prevent or manage bullying, social isolation and unpredictability at schools; and [4] community factors – including pressure on students to achieve academically, perceptions of threats, and neighbourhood characteristics and structural barriers such as poverty, lack of transport infrastructure and remoteness." - p. 23-24. |
