The Impact of Individualized Interventions for Chronically Absent Students

Author/Creator

Author/Creator ORCID

Date

2019-05-10

Department

Education

Program

Masters of Education

Citation of Original Publication

Rights

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Abstract

The purpose of this study was to determine whether providing individualized interventions would help to reduce absences for chronically absent high school students. This study used a post-test only control group design to compare attendance of groups to whom individualized interventions intended to improve attendance were offered or not. The researcher hypothesized that the individualized intervention strategies that were implemented would lessen the students’ absenteeism rate. Thirty 12th grade students in an affluent suburban high school participated in the study, all of whom had at least five or more absences at the midpoint of the school year. These students were randomly assigned to either the treatment condition, wherein they received support and interventions intended to address the causes of their absences, or the comparison group, wherein they received no special or individualized support beyond those associated with typical school policy to address their absences. Each group consisted of 15 students. Results comparing the absence rates of the treatment and control group indicated the mean difference of -.267 days absent during the 15-day intervention was not statistically significant (t= -.493, p< .626), hence the null hypothesis was retained. Despite these statistical findings, the researcher’s experience and the literature indicate further research on how to help students choose and be able to attend school regularly appears warranted.