Educational leaders have long recognized the certified classroom teacher as the most important factor in student performance and success. In his research article Teachers Matter: Understanding Teachers’ Impact on Student Achievement for the Rand Corporation, Opper (2019) stated, “When it comes to student performance on reading and math tests, teachers are estimated to have two to three times the effect of any other school factor, including services, facilities, and leadership” (para. 2). While district and school administrators certainly understand the impact teachers have on student performance, little has been done to mitigate the issue of teacher absenteeism, which has become a growing concern nationwide. In fact, limited research exists regarding successful approaches that have been utilized to curb teacher absenteeism, leaving district and school administrators with little option but to attempt to find their own solutions. One option that districts might consider as a viable solution to decreasing teacher absenteeism is a modified school calendar. While a modified school calendar shortens the summer break, it provides longer breaks at designated intervals, providing more time for teachers to decompress throughout the school year. This quantitative correlational study was conducted to determine the impact the adoption of a modified school schedule with designated breaks after each quarter had on teacher attendance in a rural Mississippi school district. Teacher absentee data from the 2022-2023 school year, which was the first year the school district utilized a modified school calendar, were compared to similar data from the 2018-2019 school year, which was the last full school year unaffected by the COVID-19 pandemic. The research results revealed that the study group of certified teachers employed in both academic years missed more days on the newly adopted modified school schedule compared to the days missed on the traditional schedule previously utilized. Given that many factors such as the time gap created by COVID-19 and the influenza strain that affected teacher attendance for several months during the 2022-2023 school year could have impacted the validity of the study, more research is needed to understand the long-term impact of a modified school calendar on teacher absenteeism.

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The purpose of this study was to identify what high school principals indicate are effective strategies and interventions to reduce chronic student absenteeism. Research has shown chronic student absenteeism is highest among high school students (Stronge and Associates, 2019; U.S. Department of Education, n.d.), and effects may include low academic achievement, possible high school dropout, and poor outcomes in adulthood (Elias, 2019; Ready, 2010; Stronge and Associates, 2019; Virginia Department of Education [VDOE], n.d.). Chronic student absenteeism is one measure of school performance in Virginia and therefore, a responsibility of the school principal to monitor, maintain, or improve (VDOE, n.d). This study sought to answer the following research questions: 1. What strategies and interventions do high school principals indicate they utilize and implement to reduce chronic student absenteeism? 2. What are the perceptions of high school principals regarding the effectiveness of strategies and interventions they utilized and implemented in order to reduce chronic student absenteeism? This study included a survey of 8 Virginia high school principals whose school experienced a reduced rate of chronic absenteeism between 2016-2017, 2017-2018, and 2018- 2019. The Virginia Department of Education (VDOE) reported chronic absenteeism as a measure of school accountability beginning in 2016. Additionally, this study included semi-structured interviews with 3 of the high school principals. The survey and interview questions aimed to determine various strategies and interventions high school principals implement to reduce chronic student absenteeism, along with the effectiveness of each. Principals in this study reported communication, involving school stakeholders, creating a positive school culture, and utilizing accountability practices as means to reduce chronic student absenteeism. Principals perceived communication and engaging instruction to be effective strategies or interventions utilized in order to reduce chronic student absenteeism, while data collection and management were considered to be least effective. The study suggests principals could engage in those practices perceived as effective in reducing chronic student absenteeism, but also school divisions could provide job embedded professional development to enhance the knowledge and skills of principals related to the topic. / Doctor of Education / The purpose of this study was to identify what high school principals indicate are effective strategies and interventions to reduce chronic student absenteeism. This study also explored how effective principals perceived each strategy or intervention was in regard to reducing chronic student absenteeism. The study included Virginia high school principals whose school experienced a reduced rate of chronic student absenteeism between 2016-2017, 2017- 2018, and 2018-2019. Principals participated in a survey and individual interview; the survey and interview instruments were designed by the researcher (see Appendix G and Appendix H). The study results indicated high school principals are utilizing communication as a strategy or intervention to reduce chronic student absenteeism. Additionally, principals also reported involving various school stakeholders, creating a positive school culture, and utilizing accountability practices in order to reduce chronic student absenteeism. Principals perceived communication and engaging instruction to be effective strategies or interventions, while data collection and management was perceived to be least effective. Future actions could include principals' continued efforts to engage families in practices to reduce chronic absenteeism. Principals could also monitor and support teacher instruction for student engagement. Additional implications and future research to decrease chronic student absenteeism are shared.

The present research examined whether the attributions a supervisor makes in response to subordinate absenteeism are influenced by a subordinate's prior absence history, the nature of the subordinate's excuse, and the outcomes of the absence episode. In addition, this study investigated the effects these absence variables have on supervisors' selection of both appropriate absence labels (excused vs. unexcused), and the type of disciplinary action taken. 160 psychology students and 85 MBA candidates from a large Southeastern university were given a scenario describing a hypothetical absence episode, and completed a questionnaire pertaining to the dependent measures above. Results of multivariate analyses of variance conducted on measures of attributions, absence labels, and disciplinary actions supported the hypotheses that (a) prior absence histories based on a high frequency of absences and subordinate excuses for absences due to visiting friends will result in more internal attributions, unexcused absence labels, and more severe forms of disciplinary action taken by the supervisor; while (b) prior absence histories based on a low frequency of absences and subordinate excuses due to a child's accident will result in external attributions, excused absence labels, and less severe forms of disciplinary action. The consequences of absenteeism did not have an effect on subjects' attributions, and only marginally influenced subjects' absence labels and sanction decisions. Results of regression analyses also supported the hypotheses that the type of attribution a supervisor makes will directly influence the chosen absence label, and the absence label will, in turn, influence the type of disciplinary action taken. Implications of the study's findings for future absence research are discussed. / M.S.

Chronic absenteeism is a growing concern nationwide. Millions of students are absent from school, with the number summing to one month's worth of absences per student per year. As a result of Every Student Succeed Act (ESSA), many states have included chronic absenteeism as part of their school quality indicator. For the 2018-2019 school year, attendance was included in standards of accreditation. Reducing chronic absenteeism has long been a goal for many public principals at each grade level nationwide. The purpose of this study was to identify what interventions and strategies principals were implementing to decrease chronic absenteeism. This study further identified principals' perceptions of the interventions and strategies with the greatest and least effect on decreasing chronic absenteeism. A qualitative research design was used with semi-structured interviews to determine principals' perceptions of interventions and strategies to decrease chronic absenteeism. Participants were principals from secondary schools in one urban school district, located in the Southeastern region of Virginia. Findings from the research revealed that principals in this district are implementing interventions and strategies that include: positive behavioral interventions and supports, parent contacts, community partnerships, district supports, and professional development to decrease chronic absenteeism. The findings also suggested that interventions and strategies that help build relationships between the school, students, and parents are being most effective in decreasing chronic absenteeism in this district. Implications for continued decrease in chronic absenteeism at all level of practice are recommended and suggestions for future research / Doctor of Education / The purpose of this study was to identify what interventions and strategies principals were implementing to decrease chronic absenteeism. This study further identified principals' perceptions of the interventions and strategies with the greatest and least effect on decreasing chronic absenteeism. The study included principals from secondary schools in one urban school district, located in the Southeastern region of Virginia. Principals were interviewed using interview questions designed by the researcher (see Appendix E). The research findings identified principals are implementing positive behavior interventions and supports in their schools to decrease chronic absenteeism. They are also implementing parent contacts, community partnerships, district supports, and professional development. The interventions and strategies principals find most effective in decreasing chronic absenteeism are interventions and strategies that help build relationships with students and parents. Future interventions and strategies should include additional efforts to contact parents, an increase in staff to make home visits and students being able to recover or buy back time lost from school due to absenteeism. Implications for practice in the continued decrease of chronic absenteeism are recommended, as well as suggestions for future research.

As the literature on work–family conflict grows and absenteeism increasingly comes into the spotlight, one cannot help but ask the question: “What is an acceptable absenteeism rate and how can an organisation control and manage absenteeism?” With current absenteeism rates as high as 12% and with an estimated R12 million lost per annum because of absenteeism, the idea of an on-site employer-sponsored childcare facility seems viable. The purpose of this study is to examine the relationship between absenteeism and on-site employer- sponsored childcare. The following dimensions of absenteeism will be examined over a period of a year: absence frequency, absence intensity, attitudinal absence and medical absence. The results of two companies, one with a facility and one without, will then be compared in order to establish the relationship between absenteeism and an on-site facility. To date, evidence remains mixed and the ongoing challenge of establishing real return on equity remains a major barrier to the support of on-site employer-sponsored childcare. / Industrial & Organisational Psychology / M. A. (Industrial and Organisational Psychology)