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The rise in teenagers skipping school across English-speaking countries. Evidence from PISA

Author

Listed:
  • Jake Anders

    (UCL Centre for Education Policy & Equalising Opportunities)

  • John Jerrim

    (UCL Social Research Institute)

  • Maria Ladron de Guevara Rodriguez

    (Departamento de Economia Aplicada, Universidad de Malaga)

  • Oscar Marcenaro-Gutierrez

    (Departamento de Economia Aplicada, Universidad de Mlaga)

Abstract

Many countries are grappling with the long shadow that COVID has cast over their education systems, including dramatic increases in absence from school. This paper presents new insights into this issue by investigating how the proportion of teenagers skipping school has changed following the COVID-19 pandemic across the developed world. We find that this problem is mainly confined to industrialised English-speaking nations, especially affecting teenage girls. In contrast, the proportion of 15-year-olds skipping school remains similar to pre-pandemic levels in most other members of the OECD. Counter to much of the previous literature into COVID-induced learning loss, we find no evidence of a link between student truancy and length of school closures. Our results do highlight, however, that English-speaking nations risk falling behind their international competitors unless radical action is taken to reduce the growing number of teenagers regularly skipping school.

Suggested Citation

  • Jake Anders & John Jerrim & Maria Ladron de Guevara Rodriguez & Oscar Marcenaro-Gutierrez, 2024. "The rise in teenagers skipping school across English-speaking countries. Evidence from PISA," CEPEO Working Paper Series 24-10, UCL Centre for Education Policy and Equalising Opportunities, revised Nov 2024.
    • Handle: RePEc:ucl:cepeow:24-10
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    File URL: https://repec-cepeo.ucl.ac.uk/cepeow/cepeowp24-10.pdf
    File Function: First version, 2024
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    More about this item

    Keywords

    PISA; absence; truancy; COVID-19; school closure; learning loss;
    All these keywords.

    JEL classification:

    • I20 - Health, Education, and Welfare - - Education - - - General
    • I24 - Health, Education, and Welfare - - Education - - - Education and Inequality
    • I28 - Health, Education, and Welfare - - Education - - - Government Policy

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