This report by the OECD shows that attendance continues to be one of the biggest challenges the school system — not just nationally but internationally.
The COVID-19 pandemic posed significant challenges for education systems and students worldwide, particularly impacting vulnerable and disadvantaged groups. In response, OECD education systems implemented a variety of new policies and practices to address these challenges. There is now an urgent need to evaluate the effectiveness of these measures for guiding education systems beyond the pandemic, identifying which policies are worth sustaining, and addressing remaining challenges.
In the past year alone, 440,000 fewer pupils were persistently absent or not attending than the year before. Across the UK last year, pupils in England attended school on average 4.5 days more than those in Scotland and nearly eight days more than those in Wales. That is over a week and a half difference in the amount of school missed, just based on where children go to school.
Moving beyond the COVID-19 pandemic, there is growing concern about students’ ability to engage and succeed in education. The report found that just over half (12) of education systems indicated a post-pandemic increase in dropouts and truancy in education.
Increases in dropouts appear concentrated in upper secondary education and other levels, including higher education, vocational education and adult education. Increases in truancy, however, were reportedly equally likely across all educational levels.