Family background and educational attainment: An investigation into the mediating role of school absenteeism

在苏格兰和其他地方，教育成就方面的严重社会不平等是根深蒂固的。因此，缩小与贫困有关的成绩差距已被确定为苏格兰教育政策的关键优先事项。关于支持教育成就的社会经济差异机制的文献尚未认真考虑学校缺勤问题。然而，经常失学可能会阻碍孩子们充分发挥学术潜力的能力，因此，不仅对个人的生命历程有害，而且对苏格兰的经济和社会也有害。因此，调查苏格兰学校旷课的流行程度、决定因素和后果是政策和实践中基于证据的变革的基本要求。该项目旨在调查出勤率的差异是否解释了苏格兰学生在教育成就和毕业后目的地方面的社会不平等。由于与健康有关的行为、住所和学校的流动性、家庭结构和环境以及父母的就业特点的差异，社会经济背景较低的儿童可能比社会经济背景较高的儿童更经常缺课。反过来，由于出勤率低、逃学或被排斥而错过了课程的重要部分，可能会导致他们在学校考试中的表现较差，在义务教育年龄后继续上学的可能性降低，并降低了接受高等教育的可能性。此外，我们将调查学校缺勤是否对社会经济背景较低的学生比社会经济背景较高的学生更有害。我们的研究结果将对政策和实践产生重要影响。二级数据分析将利用独特的苏格兰纵向研究（SLS），该研究将2001年和2011年的人口普查数据与行政学校普查和苏格兰资格认证机构（SQA）数据联系起来。SLS是一项大规模的匿名关联研究，旨在捕获5.3%的苏格兰人口，基于20个半随机的出生日期。这些大规模的行政数据在提供关于苏格兰中学生家庭背景、出勤率和学业成绩的详细和准确信息方面是独一无二的。使用学校出勤的行政数据是有利的，因为它提供了比调查信息更可靠的数据。我们的研究首次探讨了旷课是否以及在多大程度上解释了中学学生在学习成绩和毕业后目的地方面的社会经济差异。它将对学校缺勤的类型，如逃学、排斥或合法缺勤是否重要，提供新颖而全面的理解。最后，它将阐明缺勤是否对社会经济背景较低的儿童特别有害。

Significant social inequalities in educational attainment are well-established in Scotland and elsewhere. Closing the poverty-related attainment gap has therefore been identified as the key priority in Scottish education policy. The literature on the mechanisms underpinning socio-economic differences in educational attainment has not yet seriously considered school absenteeism. Yet missing out frequently from school may hinder children's ability to develop to their full academic potential and may therefore be detrimental not only for individuals' life courses but also for Scotland's economy and society. Investigating the prevalence, determinants and consequences of school absenteeism in Scottish schools is therefore an essential requirement for evidence-based changes in policy and practice. This project aims to investigate whether differences in school attendance account for social inequalities in educational attainment and post-school destinations among pupils in Scotland. Due to differences in health-related behaviour, residential and school mobility, family structure and environment, and parental employment characteristics, children from lower socio-economic backgrounds may be more frequently absent from school than children from higher socio-economic backgrounds. In turn, missing out on important parts of the curriculum due to lower attendance, truancy, or exclusion may result in lower performance in school exams, decreased likelihood of continuing school after the compulsory schooling age, and lowering the likelihood of progressing to higher education. In addition, we will investigate whether school absenteeism is more detrimental to pupils from lower socio-economic backgrounds than to pupils from higher socio-economic backgrounds. Our results will have important implications for policy and practice.The secondary data analysis will make use of the unique Scottish Longitudinal Study (SLS) which links Census data in 2001 and 2011 with administrative School Census and Scottish Qualificational Authority (SQA) data. The SLS is a large-scale, anonymised linkage study designed to capture 5.3% of the Scottish population based on 20 semi-random birthdates. These large-scale administrative data are unique in providing detailed and accurate information on family background, school attendance and school attainment among secondary pupils in Scotland. The use of administrative data on school attendance is advantageous as it provides more reliable data than survey information.Our study is the first of its kind to explore whether, and to what extent, school absenteeism explains socio-economic differences in school performance and post-school destinations among secondary school students. It will provide novel and comprehensive understanding of whether the type of school absenteeism, such as truancy, exclusion or legitimate absence matters. Finally, it will shed light on whether absenteeism is particularly detrimental for children from lower socio-economic backgrounds.