This study examined the relationship between teacher absenteeism and teacher characteristics on third through eighth grade achievement as measured by the Mississippi Curriculum Test 2 (MCT2) language arts and mathematics assessment. School year 2012-2013 yearly assessment scores for 3rd, 4th, 5th, 6th, 7th, and 8th grade students in 1 school district in the State of Mississippi were analyzed to determine if teachers’ rate of absenteeism, age, gender, years of teaching experience, degree and certification influenced student academic achievement. This study was guided by 5 research questions and employed 2 research designs. Correlational research was used to answer research question 1, 4 and 5. Question 1 sought to determine the differences in the magnitude of the relationships between teacher absences and student achievement across schools and grade levels. Questions 4 and 5 sought to determine how accurately teachers’ rate of absenteeism, age, gender, years of teaching experience, degree and certification predicted 3rd through 8th grade student achievement in language arts and mathematics. Questions 2 and 3 were answered using a causal-comparative research design to determine the differences in MCT2 scores of students in Grades 3-8 whose teachers missed 5 or fewer days and students whose teacher missed more than 5 days of school. The findings of this study indicated that there was a small relationship between teacher absences and achievement across grade levels and schools. In addition findings indicated that teacher absences did not impact student achievement in language arts; however; findings revealed that teacher absences had a negative impact in student achievement in mathematics. Finally, age, degree and certification were predictors of student achievement in language and mathematics. The study concludes with recommendations for future research.

When the deadly EF-4 tornado devastated the Winston County in 2014, the local hospital and various doctors’ offices and clinics were destroyed. Win School District (WSD) had already realized the need to reestablish health care services within the school, and now county health professionals realized they were unable to meet the health care needs of the county. A partnership emerged with the Winston County Health Foundation and established a School-Based Health Clinic (SBHC) on the lower elementary school campus. The purpose of this research study was to investigate the lived experiences of school administrators, teachers, parents, and health professionals related to the SBHC in a rural school district. An exploratory qualitative research design was selected for the study to answer the central, overarching research question: How do teachers, parents, health professionals, and administrators describe their experiences related to an SBHC in a rural school district? Overall, as experienced by school administrators, teachers, parents, and health professionals, and evidenced by official school records, the SBCH met a tremendous health need in the community and had a positive impact on students’ academic achievement, students’ attendance, and teachers’ attendance. This study focused on the benefits and advantages, disadvantages and challenges, impact on student and teacher attendance, impact on student achievement, and suggested improvements. Lessons learned and insights are provided for educational leaders that can be used to promote and implement SBHC programs in Mississippi as well as throughout the country.

Teacher absenteeism is a problem that needs a solution. It is imperative that teachers come to work each day to prepare their students for academic achievement. If teachers are chronically absent from work, the students’ academic achievement suffers. There needs to be a way to minimize teacher absences. School districts must track data that shows teacher absences in order to get a clear picture of when and where the absences are the greatest problem. A review of the literature identified several studies conducted over the years that document the effects of teacher absenteeism. With this in mind, it is recommended that incentives be put in place to reduce the absences of the teachers. I furthered the research to include data from a school district by researching teacher perceptions of the use of teacher attendance incentives in the school district. The purpose of this study was to determine which schools within the school district have Incentive programs in place to motivate teachers to come to work. Existing attendance data was obtained to analyze the attendance of the teachers at each building. The teachers were then surveyed to identify the incentives that are in place at each building and the teachers’ perceptions of those incentives. The surveys conducted also assisted in determining if the attendance incentives that are used as motivation are effective to motivate teachers to attend work. The results of the teachers’ perceptions of the incentive program at each school will be compared with the teacher attendance data to determine which teacher attendance incentives are effective in motivating teachers to attend work as scheduled. The incentives that are the most effective will be shared with each principal in the district to utilize in maintaining better teacher attendance throughout the school district.

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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Since the inception of No Child Left Behind, particularly in the past few years, teacher accountability is at the forefront of educational debate. Taking in to account the many facets of teacher accountability, student performance is nearly half of teacher evaluation systems. Considering the value of a quality teacher, one would logically presume that the teacher was present in the classroom to ensure student achievement. However, teacher absenteeism is an overlooked issue in today’s accountability system. The relative dearth of evidence and a practitioner’s lens of logical reason prompted an interest to investigate the relationship further. The historical perspective in the literature that does exist related to teacher absenteeism revealed that teacher absences are expensive and negatively affects student achievement. The purpose of the quantitative study was to determine if patterns exist among teacher absences and to determine the relationship between teacher absences and student achievement performance on state standardized tests in English, math, science, and social studies. A quantitative research design was employed using one-way analysis of variance (ANOVA) and sequential multiple regression as the primary analytical procedures. Using data from a single school division in Virginia, analyses were conducted to determine if there were patterns among teachers’ absences, if teacher absences predicted student achievement, and if teacher absences influenced certain student groups more than others. Although some evidence in the research literature indicates that student achievement decreased with increased teacher absenteeism, the current investigation did not reveal consequential evidence that teacher absenteeism negatively impacts student achievement. Implications from the findings, along with recommendations for future research, are presented in the final chapter. / Ed. D.

The research regarding the effect of policy on teacher absenteeism is scarce and research examining teacher absenteeism from a state perspective is very limited. This mixed methods study analyzed selected school variables for public schools and districts in Virginia contained in the 2011-2012 and 2013-2014 Civil Rights Data Collection (CRDC) and in the National Center for Educational Statistics. In addition, a content analysis was performed on leave policies for all 132 school districts in Virginia yielding policy variables for the study. The purpose of the study was to determine the relationship of school and policy characteristics to teacher absences. The analysis for this study involved computing descriptive statistics, correlating continuous variables, and running multiple regressions for each dataset (school and district for each year) to determine the predictors of the dependent variable, chronically absent teachers, defined as the percentage of teachers absent for more than 10 days. Although the school models were significant, neither was a particularly strong predictor of chronically absent teachers, only accounting for 15.2 percent variation (2011-2012 model with R2=.152) and 9.6 percent variation (2013-2014 model with R2=.096) that is predicted by the independent variables. Nevertheless, there were independent policy and school variables that were significant predictors in both school years. The most prominent variables included: total leave, personal leave maximums, income protection provisions (sick leave banks, short-term disability), free and reduced lunch population percentage of a school, pupil/teacher ratio of the school, and the grade level of the school (elementary, middle, and high). / Ed. D. / Teacher absences have an educational impact on student achievement. Research specific to teacher absences is very limited. Using data for public school districts in Virginia, this study aimed to determine the relationship of school and policy characteristics to teacher absences. The study found that increasing the amount of total leave (sick and personal) granted annually and increasing the number of personal leave days a teacher is allowed to take annually, is likely to lead to higher number of teachers absent more than 10 days annually. The study also found schools with higher free and reduced lunch student population and higher pupil/teacher ratios are more likely to have a higher number of teachers absent more than 10 days. Finally the study found that there is a relationship of the grade level of the schools with middle schools having a higher percentage of teachers absent more than 10 days.

On average, teachers in the United States are absent for 9.6 days of student instruction per school year, while in this study's rural Northeast Ohio school district, teachers averaged 16.2 absences in the 2015-16 school year. Teacher absence is a concern because the classroom teacher is often considered the most crucial school-related influence on student achievement. Guided by Bowlby's attachment theory, the purpose of this study was to examine the possible predictive relationships between teacher absences for sick/personal and professional leave as well as other teacher-related variables, including teaching experience, teacher education level, and teacher evaluation results, with the outcome variables of student achievement in 4th through 8th grade English language arts and math. In this quantitative correlational study, data from 36 4th through 8th grade English language arts and math teachers were examined using simple and multiple linear regression models. Results indicated that none of the 5 teacher-related variables were significantly predictive of student achievement. Despite these non-significant results, the district's Board of Education expressed concerns about the public's perception of the district's teacher attendance rate. To address the Board's concern, a 3-day professional development program was created for the Board, administrators, and teachers to collaborate and recommend strategies to increase teacher attendance. The knowledge gained from implementing this project will promote positive social change by offering this and other school districts a variety of options to support the consistent attendance of teachers, which may, in turn, enhance student-teacher relationships, student-teacher engagement, and potentially student achievement over time.