Examining the Role of Parents/Caregivers of Youth Demonstrating Truant Behavior

Abstract

Truancy, which refers to unexcused absenteeism from school, is precipitated by numerous home and school factors. Generally, laws in most countries across the world require parents or caregivers to ensure that children attend school. In the United States, the No Child Left Behind Act requires all children to attend school (Kim & Page, 2012). The United States government’s statistics indicated that a large percentage of pupils in the country fail to attend school and classes for various reasons (Dahl, 2016). The numerous causes of truancy may be broadly classified as community and school-based. This qualitative study investigated the experiences of parents/caregivers of youth demonstrating truant behavior. In-depth interviews were conducted with 5 parent/caregivers and recurring themes were identified. These themes include: parental-stress, lack of supervision, parental uncertainty, and mental health issues as contributing factors to truancy.