Primary Education Truancy and School Performance in Social Exclusion Settings: The Case of Students in Cañada Real Galiana

Santa Lázaro, Belén Urosa, Rosalía Mota and Eva Rubio
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Santa Lázaro: Department of Sociology and Social Work, Faculty of Humanities and Social Sciences, Comillas University, 28049 Madrid, Spain
Belén Urosa: Department of Education, Research Methods and Assessment, Faculty of Humanities and Social Sciences, Comillas University, 28049 Madrid, Spain
Rosalía Mota: Department of Sociology and Social Work, Faculty of Humanities and Social Sciences, Comillas University, 28049 Madrid, Spain
Eva Rubio: Department of Sociology and Social Work, Faculty of Humanities and Social Sciences, Comillas University, 28049 Madrid, Spain

Sustainability, 2020, vol. 12, issue 20, 1-27

Abstract: Academic studies show that one of the main predictors of early school dropout at secondary education is student truancy behaviour, usually beginning at primary education. This is a problem that gets worse in socially vulnerable environments. This study analyses the prevalence and types of truancy in a population of students with high social risk in Madrid city, studying the relationship between truancy and their school performance. A questionnaire was answered by mentor teachers of students at the preschool and primary stages (N = 120), who reported information from a total of 433 students from 12 different schools. Results showed a high level of prevalence in the different types of truancy (Active and Passive). Among these behaviours, 46.86% of students skipped entire days without a valid excuse and 42.51% did not usually do their homework. Overall, 60% showed underachievement and great rates of curricular gap. In 6th grade, the last year of primary school, 74.42% of students had repeated one grade and 27.91% more than one. Moreover, significant correlations were found between truancy and school performance. The detection and early action against truancy in primary education with this type of student will reduce early dropouts and make school a key actor for the development of these students.

Keywords: truancy; dropout; school performance; child poverty; socially vulnerable students; preschool; primary school (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: O13 Q Q0 Q2 Q3 Q5 Q56 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2020
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Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:gam:jsusta:v:12:y:2020:i:20:p:8464-:d:427857

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