The effectiveness of a truancy hearing in four middle schools
Abstract
The present study examines the community, family, school, and individual characteristics impact upon change in the rate of truancy between 6th and 7th and the 7th and 8 th grades among children who have missed twenty days or more of school. Sixth and seventh grade students who attended a truancy hearing were hypothesized to have a change in the rate of absenteeism than those who were not referred for a hearing. No statistically significant difference was observed between those students who were never referred for a hearing or did not attend the hearing. Parental knowledge about their child's truancy was hypothesized to result in a change in the rate of absenteeism. Parental knowledge was found to have a statistically significant impact on absenteeism for sixth graders not for seventh graders. Students who had a home visitor for an MSW were hypothesized to have a change in the rate of absenteeism than those who had an educator as a home visitor. The MSW degree of the home visitor was found to have a statistically significant impact upon absenteeism for seventh graders but not for sixth graders. Suspension was hypothesized to result in a change in the rate of absenteeism. No statistically significant difference was observed between suspension and absenteeism for both grades. Students who move were hypothesized to result in a change in the rate of absenteeism. No statistically significant difference was observed between families who move or families who do not move for both grades. Students who come from a home in which English is the primary language were hypothesized to have a change in the rate of absenteeism. No statistically significant difference was observed between the home language of the family and absenteeism for both grades. Student who repeated a grade were hypothesized to result in a change in the rate of absenteeism. No statistically significant difference was observed between repeating a grade and absenteeism for both grades. Findings of the study suggest that the four multiple domains are not significantly related to truancy. The implications for social work practice, social work education, and future research are presented.
Subject Area
Social work|School counseling
Recommended Citation
Archibald, Mary J, "The effectiveness of a truancy hearing in four middle schools" (2002). ETD Collection for Fordham University. AAI3080978.
https://research.library.fordham.edu/dissertations/AAI3080978
