Working paper | Quantitative data analysis | People
Truancy rates have risen faster in developed English-speaking countries since the Covid-19 pandemic than in non-English-speaking countries, according to a new working paper by UCL researchers.
Teenage girls are also increasingly more likely to skip school than boys across Anglophone countries.
In 2022, 26% of all Year 11 pupils in England reported playing truant at least once in the last fortnight. This represented an increase from 2012 and 2018, the previous data capture points, when the figure was at 18% each time.
In the same year (2022), 29% of Year 11 girls in England reported skipping school in the past two weeks, compared to 23% of boys. This gender gap was widest in England, the USA, Ireland, New Zealand and Wales.
Teenagers from lower socio-economic backgrounds were more likely to skip school in England. Pre-pandemic, a fifth (21%) admitted to skipping school, compared to 13% for the most advantaged group. This increased in both groups post-pandemic, as nearly a third (29%) of disadvantaged teenagers admitted playing truant in 2022, compared to just over a fifth (22%) of advantaged teenagers.
The findings, published by UCL's Social Research Institute, mean the nine Anglophone countries in the developed world have the highest truancy rates for 15-year-olds - and experienced the sharpest rise in rates - out of all OECD countries. The results could have significant policy implications for schools in these countries.
Lead author Professor John Jerrim (UCL Social Research Institute) said: "The increase in Anglophone countries' truancy rates shows that schools face a huge challenge in re-engaging students and addressing the underlying issues contributing to absences.
"We can attribute the rise largely to girls skipping school more often since the pandemic. It is therefore crucial that we develop and implement targeted interventions to support students and help them stay engaged in their education."
Wales had the highest gender gap in 2022, with over 40% of girls admitting to truancy, compared to a third of boys.
The researchers also found there was no correlation between the length of school closures during the pandemic and truancy rates. Schools across OECD countries were typically closed for an average of five months, but the authors found no evidence of a direct link between this and the increase in proportion of students skipping school.
For the study, the researchers used data from the OECD Programme for International Student Assessment (PISA), which assesses the academic achievement of 15-year-olds in around 80 countries.
In addition to this, over 200 schools were randomly selected in each country, with around 40 students selected in each school, who were sent a questionnaire about their attendance.
The nine English-speaking countries in the study were England, Ireland, Scotland, Wales, the USA, Australia, Northern Ireland, Canada and New Zealand. The only non-Anglophone OECD countries that experienced a similar increase in truancy since the pandemic are Poland and Italy. The academics say that more research is needed to determine why these two countries have a similar rate to the Anglophone nations.
The researchers speculate that the increase in the proportion of girls skipping schools could be due to rising rates of poor mental health, partly as a result of the Covid-19 pandemic.
Professor Jerrim added: "It is as yet unproven, but possible, that teenage girls could be disproportionately affected by mental health challenges arising in the aftermath of the pandemic, meaning they are more likely to skip school on days when they're experiencing heightened anxiety."
The researchers stress that more work is needed to investigate the underlying reasons behind the gender gap in truancy rates.
