Research: Effective Communication Can Reduce Absenteeism 10 Percent

Research: Effective Communication Can Reduce Absenteeism 10 Percent 

Telling parents that absences matter and offering suggestions for eliminating them reduces absenteeism by as much as 10 percent, according to a new study from researchers at Harvard and Berkeley.

Researchers used three different communications strategies with parents of more than 28,000 high-risk students at the Philadelphia School District.

Parents tend to do a poor job of tracking their children's attendance and understanding how it compares to the average, according to the researchers.

"Since children can be central to parents' own identities, biased total absences beliefs may benefit parents by allowing them to think more positively about themselves," they explained in their report.

But putting the total absences in notices with labels that said "Absences Matter and You Can Help" reduced the number of absences by 10 percent or more. Researchers said the effectiveness of the interventions was consistent across grade levels from K-12, though they noted that 18-year-old high-school seniors are more likely to skip a class in the first place than a student in elementary school.

The researchers said that parents are an effective target for interventions because they are "active investors in their children's human capital," and can use the information to dole out rewards and punishments or for any number of negotiations with their children.

The most effective communications packets the researchers used only cost $6.60 each.

The full study is available at nature.com.

About the Author

Joshua Bolkan is contributing editor for Campus Technology, THE Journal and STEAM Universe. He can be reached at [email protected].

Featured

  • hand signing an AI document

    More than 60 Organizations Sign White House Pledge to Support AI Education

    The White House has introduced the "Pledge to America’s Youth: Investing in AI Education," asking companies and organizations to commit to fostering early interest in AI technology, promoting AI literacy and proficiency among America's youth, and enabling comprehensive AI training for educators.

  • central cloud platform connected to various AI icons—including a brain, robot, and network nodes

    Linux Foundation Adopts Protocol for AI Agent Interoperability

    The Linux Foundation has announced it will host the Agent2Agent (A2A) protocol project, an open standard originally developed by Google to support secure communication and interoperability among AI agents.

  • red brick school building with a large yellow "AI" sign above its main entrance

    New National Academy for AI Instruction to Provide Free AI Training for Educators

    In an effort to "transform how artificial intelligence is taught and integrated into classrooms across the United States," the American Federation of Teachers (AFT), in partnership with Microsoft, OpenAI, Anthropic, and the United Federation of Teachers, is launching the National Academy for AI Instruction, a $23 million initiative that will provide access to free AI training and curriculum for all AFT members, beginning with K-12 educators.

  • Stylized illustration of an AI microchip connected to a laptop, server rack, and monitor with a chart

    HPE and Nvidia Expand AI Infrastructure Partnership

    Hewlett Packard Enterprise and Nvidia have announced an expanded partnership to accelerate enterprise artificial intelligence adoption through new modular infrastructure and turnkey AI platform offerings.