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Professor Kitty Te Riele, Dr Michael A. Guerzoni, (University of Tasmania); Professor Anna Sullivan (University of South Australia); Professor Sharon Bessell (Australian National University); Professor Daryl Higgins (Australian Catholic University)
Allambi Care, Anglicare (NSW West, NSW South and ACT, & Victoria), Berry Street, Commissioner for Children and Young People Tasmania, Key Assets, Life Without Barriers, McKillop Family Services, Stronger Smarter Institute
Australian Research Council - Linkage Grant
The project will investigate why children and young people in care experience are absent from school significantly more than their peers, and what can be done to improve their attendance by schools, carers, education systems, and out-of-home (OOHC) systems. These questions will guide the research:
Education is central to securing a better future for students in OOHC. Much of the research about education for students in care has focused on their educational outcomes, academic attainment, school completion, and entry into post-compulsory education. But attendance as a fundamental enabler for improving such outcomes has been largely overlooked.
Absence from school is associated with increased social isolation, increased likelihood of leaving school early, and reduced academic achievement. Little is known about the reasons for school absences by students in care, and how to address this significant problem. In particular, students' own perspectives are largely invisible.
Any intervention intended to improve school outcomes for students in care has a crucial prerequisite: that these students are actually at school and in class. The project will provide robust evidence about the reasons for school absences of students in care.
The project will build a picture of why the level of absence from school is high for children in care, using a range of sources of data: children's own voices; detailed absence data; policy audit; and case studies of promising practice. This knowledge will provide policy and practice alternatives to better support these students to attend school.
Partners in this project include providers of OOHC and stakeholders in children's wellbeing: Allambie Care; Anglicare NSW South, NSW West and ACT; Berry Street Victoria; Commissioner for Children and Young People Tasmania; Key Assets, Children's Services Provider; Life Without Barriers; CREATE Foundation; Mackillop Family Services; and Stronger Smarter Institute.
We have developed a comprehensive conceptualisation of five important types of absence from school for students in care:
These will inform the research approach, nationally and within states and territories, that will be carried out by a range of stakeholders:
The reviews will inform the development of a tool that OOHC agencies can use to foster stronger school attendance.
This research will provide important complex and nuanced understandings about school absence and attendance for students in care. Project findings will support governments to achieve their educational priorities for students in care.
Attending school every day counts - but kids in out-of-home care are missing out, The Conversation, 11 May 2023
Te Riele, K., Sullivan, A., Rudling, E., Bessel, S., Higgins, D., & Guerzoni, M. (in press). Being at school: A prerequisite for educational equity. In K. Te Riele et al., (Eds). 2024: Innovative School Reforms - International Perspectives on Reimagining Theory, Policy, and Practice for the Future.
2024 - 2026
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