Truancy

Study carried out in Dhemaji district, Assam.

In an alternate world, in a nameless totalitarian city, the autocratic Mayor rules the school system with an iron fist, with the help of his Educators. Fighting against the Mayor and his repressive Educators is a group of former students called the Truancy, whose goal is to take down the system by any means possible—at any cost. Against this backdrop, fifteen-year-old Tack is just trying to survive. His days are filled with sadistic teachers, unrelenting schoolwork, and indifferent parents. Things start to look up when he meets Umasi, a mysterious boy who runs a lemonade stand in an uninhabited district. Then someone close to Tack gets killed in the crossfire between the Educators and the Truants, and Tack swears vengeance. To achieve his purpose, he abandons his old life and joins the Truancy. There, he confronts Zyid, an enigmatic leader with his own plans for Tack. But Tack soon finds himself torn between his desire for vengeance and his growing sympathy for the Truants.... Isamu Fukui wrote Truancy during the summer of his fifteenth year. The author's purpose is not just to entertain, but to make a statement about the futility of the endless cycle of violence in the world as well as the state of the educational system. And, as he put it, "I need to be in school myself if I want to write about it." At the Publisher's request, this title is being sold without Digital Rights Management Software (DRM) applied.

Truancy: Short and Long-term Solutions is a practical and accessible guide to dealing with the problem of truancy and non-attendance. It is the first book on the issue to actively focus on solutions to the problem, rather than the causes. Full of practical examples of the latest ways in which schools, teachers, education welfare officers and LEAs try to overcome their attendance difficulties. Ken Reid identifies nearly 120 short-term solutions as well as several long-term strategic approaches. The book also considers parental-condoned absenteeism, alternative curriculum schemes and mentoring, while the final chapter presents some strategic issues which policy-makers and politicians need to overcome. This book provides all teachers, deputy heads, head teachers, education welfare staff, social workers, learning mentors and other caring professionals with a repository of up-to-date ideas and solutions. It is essential reading for anyone involved in addressing the challenge of truancy.

At present about one million pupils truant from their schools on a daily basis and this book examines why they do it. The numerous reasons for truanting discussed are: * disadvantageous home backgrounds * problems with settling in socially at school * poor performance in school * experiencing bullying in school * not coping with the transition from primary to secondary schooling. This book focuses on the social, psychological and educational causes of truancy. It examines recent research and gives many examples of good practice while also detailing the latest solutions for tackling this problem. The text is for teachers, heads of year and department heads, senior school managers, education welfare officers, social workers, educational psychologists, parents and all those with an interest in educational policy and practice.

Author Bruce S. Cooper looks at truancy as an indication that curricula and pedagogy are not serving students’ needs, especially for ethnic minorities and English language learners. This book explores different types of truancy, major research in the field, and how teachers, school leaders, and students can work together to solve this problem.

First Published in 2004. This pack on tackling truancy in schools is specifically written for use by teachers and for other caring professionals in the field, such as, education welfare officers, education social workers and educational psychologists. It brings together in twenty-four concise units the latest knowledge and good practice in the prevention and combating of truancy and other forms of non-attendance at school. Some units focus on understanding the causes and issues involved in truancy while others focus on the Government’s latest initiatives. The ideas contained in the units are specifically designed to help schools, LEAs and other caring professionals meet the Government’s new targets for reducing truancy. In order to help readers make the best use of the pack and its materials: each unit begins by providing a summary of its contents; each unit ends with a range of professional development questions or tasks which can be undertaken during training events. The pack can be read alongside Ken Reid’s book Truancy and Schools, also published by Routledge.

Research has shown that truancy is frequently associated with juvenile crime and dropping out of school altogether. With the high dropout rate in the U.S. and the No Child Left Behind Act holding schools accountable for their dropout rates, it is essential for school social workers to contribute to their schools' improvement plan in meeting annual yearly progress benchmarks. This book, by well respected researchers and practitioners who have extensive experience with truancy, covers best practices in truancy at the community, school, and student/family levels of interventions. It provides an essential everyday reference guide to research-based programs and truancy program implementation. Beginning with an introduction to the essentials of truancy, its causes and consequences, and state and federal legislation, the authors then give readers a snapshot of what research has shown to work so far and what adaptations might look like in various school settings. Richly detailed case examples illustrate multiple levels of intervention, from the school-wide prevention and general policy levels to remedial interventions, including culturally competent approaches. Eminently practical and easily accessible, with sample forms, methods of measuring outcomes, ideas for funding, take-away points, and digestible research summaries, this will be a trusted toolkit for school professionals seeking to reduce their schools' dropout rates and improve students' engagement with school. School-based practitioners and student trainees alike will find a wealth of reliable information about what is seemingly an intractable problem. They can immediately begin implementing the proven and promising practices presented in this practical guide.

The purpose of the study was to examine the perceptions of school administrators, teachers, and counselors from schools within the United States school districts regarding the most frequent internal and external factors affecting student truancy and effective intervention strategies to decrease truancy. Participants included administrators, teachers, and counselors from the United States school districts. An eighteen-statement Likert-scale survey with one open-ended question was administered to one hundred administrators, teachers, and counselors from school districts within the United States. Survey data were analyzed to determine factors that participants frequently perceived to influence student truancy. Survey results were analyzed to examine participants' perceptions of effective strategies for reducing truancy. The findings identified medical conditions, adolescent sex, and teenage pregnancy as the top three internal factors of concern. For external factors, personal problems, medical conditions, and bullying were the top three factors of concern. Medical conditions were a factor used in both internal and external factors and were in the top three areas of concern in both research questions. Three additional factors were identified as peer pressure, lack of motivation, and staying out late. The three intervention strategies supported by all teachers were before- or after-school tutoring, parental involvement, and a Parent Academy. Participants were in favor of all intervention attempts to reduce truancy within school systems in the United States.