Israeli principals’ considerations regarding the actions they take to prevent student absenteeism

Abstract

Despite the high prevalenceof student absenteeism and its wide range of negative consequences, the existing research on the role of school principals in combating student absenteeism is scant. The current study sought to understand the considerations of principals regarding the actions they take to prevent student absenteeism. Study participants were 22 Israeli school principals. Data were collected through semi-structured interviews. Data analysis revealed thatIsraeli principals rarely took actions whose direct aim was to combat student absenteeism. They viewed their impact on student absenteeism as indirect and focused on combating severe student absenteeism. Implications and further research are discussed. Cumulative evidence indicates that student attendance is closely related to a variety of educational outcomes (García & Weiss, 2018; Gottfried & Hutt, 2019). Student attendance is associated with better reading ability, improved academic performance, and higher prospects foron-time graduation, college enrollment, and future employment (Ansari & Pianta, 2019; Robinson et al., 2018; Kearney et al., 2013). It is also associated with lower rates of class retention and dropout and reduced risk of alcohol and drug use, unwanted pregnancies, and crime (Bartanen, 2020; Smerillo et al., 2018). However, every single day, hordes of students around the world do not come to school. Many of them are chronically absent, defined as students missing 10% or more of school days (Smerillo et al., 2018). In the UK, the percentage of enrollments in primary and secondary schools that were classified as persistent absentees in autumn/spring 2017/18 was 11.3%. This is higher than the equivalent figure of 10.4% in autumn/spring 2016/17 (National Statistics, 2018).In the U.S., one in five school students is chronically absent (U.S. Department of Education, 2016). Over 8 million U.S. students miss nearly a month of school each year (Chang et al., 2018). Similarly, in OECD countries, 21.3% of students said they were absent from school for a whole day at least once in the two weeks before the PISA test (OECD, 2019). In some countries, a more significant share of students skips school. For example, the prevalence of high-frequency student absences in Brunei Darussalam, Indonesia, and the Philippines was more than 30% (Pengpid & Peltzer, 2017). In Saudi Arabia, a third of middle and high school students were absent to a moderate or high degree (AlSayyari & AlBuhairan, 2020). Despite the well documented negative influence of student absenteeism on students’ academic and socioemotional outcomes (e.g., Ansari & Pianta, 2019; Robinson et al., 2018; Gottfried & Hutt, 2019) and its widespread prevalence (e.g., Chang et al., 2018; National; Statistics, 2018; OECD, 2019), the available knowledge on the role school principals play in improving student attendance is meager.It has only recently been empirically examined whether principals have an impact on student attendance (Bartanen, 2020). The actions principals take to improve student attendance have scarcely been investigated so far (Childs & Grooms, 2018). Against the background of the paucity of research on CONTACT Haim Shaked [email protected] Hemdat Hadarom College of Education, Pob 412, Netivot 8771302, Israel. LEADERSHIP AND POLICY IN SCHOOLS https://doi.org/10.1080/15700763.2020.1870700 © 2021 Taylor & Francis Group, LLC this issue, the current study seeks to identify the considerations of school principals regarding the actions they take to prevent student absenteeism, a topic that has not been researched so far. Specifically, this study explores these considerations in Israeli school principals. The national school system in Israel serves about 1.4 million students (Israeli Central Bureau of Statistics, 2020). Israeli schools are characterized by the type of organizational culture known by Cameron and Quinn (2011) asa clan culture, which views the organization as an extended family, held together by loyalty, commitment and strong, close interpersonal relationships (Katriel, 1991; Shaked, 2019; ShapiraLishchinsky, 2009).Although absenteeism in Israeli schools has decreased somewhat over the years (Ben Rabi et al., 2014), its extent in Israel is almost twice the OECD average. The percentage of Israeli students reported that they had skipped a day of school at least once in the two weeks prior to the PISA test was 38.4% (OECD, 2019; There is no information on the differences between the Israeli educational subsystems). The goal of this study is toexploreIsraeli principals’ considerations regarding the actions they take to reduce student absenteeism rates. Theoretical background How principals influence student learning To enable an understanding of the considerations and work of principals to improve student attendance, this section briefly reviews existing knowledge about the impact of principals on student learning and academic success. Research has known for quite a few years that among all school-related factors that influence student performance, leadership is second only to classroom teaching. The effect of leadership on students learning accounts for about a quarter of the total school effects (Leithwood et al., 2004). Most of the effects of school leadership on student learning quality and achievement are indirect, utilizing variables that mediate the improvement of teaching and learning (Robinson et al., 2008). Researchers point to specific mediators that link school leadership to student academic performance. These mediators have significant, usually direct, effects on students, and they are relatively impactable by principals. The mediators fall under four paths – rational, emotional, organizational, and family (Leithwood et al., 2020, 2010), presented next. The rational path refers to the knowledge and skills necessary for teachers to teach well, such as content knowledge, general pedagogical knowledge, content specific pedagogical knowledge, curricular knowledge and knowledge of learners. This path includes the mediators of classroom instruction, teachers’ use of instructional time, academic press and disciplinary climate (Heck & Hallinger, 2014; Hendriks & Scheerens, 2013). The emotional path refers to inherent mental qualities, feelings, and affective states or reactions of teachers (both individual and collective) forming the nature of their educational work. This path includes the mediators of collective teacher efficacy, teacher commitment and teacher trust in others (Goddard et al., 2004; Ross & Gray, 2006; Sun & Leithwood, 2017). The organizational path refers to school characteristics that organize and give a pattern to the relationships and interactions among school members. This path includes the mediators of safe and orderly environments, collaborative cultures and structures, and the organization of planning and instructional time (Heck & Hallinger, 2010; Uline & Tschannen-Moran, 2008). The family path refers to the educational environment in the student home. To advance knowledge and character development, parents must work productively with schools for the benefit of their children. This path includes the mediators of parent expectations for children’s success at school, forms of communication among parents and children in the home and parents social and intellectual capital about schooling (Goodall, 2017; Gordon & Louis, 2009). While a large body of literature explores the link between effective school leadership and higher student achievement (Leithwood et al., 2020), the influence of principals on student attendance has hardly been investigated so far (Bartanen, 2020). Inasmuch as the adverse effects of absenteeism on student learning bother both researchers and practitioners around the globe, filling this gap is extremely important. 2 H. SHAKED