NCJ Number
211673
Date Published
December 2002
Length
157 pages
Annotation
This is a report on a project piloted in Tasmania (Australia) to test the effectiveness of various strategies for increasing school attendance.
Abstract
The project recognized that in order to substantially impact truancy, multiple strategies were required. The components of the "holistic mix" of strategies was based on the literature and on research into local situations. The project was initially implemented in one of the high schools known to need assistance in addressing truancy. The evaluation examined the effect of the strategies on school attendance, as well as the impact of any improvement in school attendance on juvenile crime in the area. The five stages of the project are outlined as they were implemented from June 2000 to December 2001. The core strategy was termed "Lesson-by-Lesson," which involved the collection of accurate attendance data on a lesson-by-lesson basis. This provided for detection when a student first started missing classes. A second strategy, "Phone Home," was linked to the data collection. Contact was made by phone with the parents/guardians of students who were absent from school on the day of the absence. These two strategies were the only ones fully implemented within the time frame of the project. Under these strategies, there was an 18.4-percent reduction in full-day truancy over the period of the trial. Other proposed strategies operated in some capacity during the trial period; these are described. The evaluation concluded that truancy was not a significant factor in juvenile crimes in the immediate or short-term; however, suspending a truant student was found to be a crime factor. Recommendations are offered for improving and replicating the project in other jurisdictions. Tables and figures, a bibliography, and appended project forms