School absenteeism - Impact on society too

Research published by the Economic and Social Research Institute (ESRI) highlights reasons for persistent and chronic absenteeism among Irish primary school children. The reasons are many and varied.

Circumstances in the home have the most profound impact on attendance. Children living with a mother suffering from depression are more likely to have a higher absentee rate, while the children of a mother whose native language is other the English or Irish are also more likely to have poor attendance.

Children whose parent or parents are unemployed are over three times more likely to have a poor attendance record than those from the highest social group. This, in turn, can have the most profound impact in the children’s development, and their chances in life.

If children do not get the chance to develop properly, they are in real danger of turning into maladjusted adults, and this has consequences for society as a whole. Therefore, it is not enough to recognise the causes of absenteeism but also to tackle those causes properly.