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Survey Report

Didaskaleinophobia or Scolionophobia (Fear of Going to School), more commonly known as School Attendance Challenges, are complex challenges and barriers to education and learning that students might experience. Some of the challenges in accessing and managing school involve extreme anxiety, phobia, and panic attacks on school nights and days, in sleeping, waking up, leaving the house, entering the school building, and staying at school.

School attendance challenges and chronic absenteeism are widespread issues. Despite international research since the 1930s, we have not come very far in our awareness, understanding, and school-based responses to school attendance challenges, avoidance, and absenteeism as a disability that needs to be understood, supported, and accommodated. The longer a student is absent from school, the more entrenched the pattern of avoidance and absenteeism becomes. Chronic absenteeism increases suicide risk factors. For that reason, the need for effective and comprehensive school-based action is urgent. The possible negative outcomes for a student with school attendance challenges who is not able to access or manage an education are numerous.

Our survey highlights the experiences of students with school attendance challenges, and their families, in the education system. We hope that the findings of this quantitative and qualitative survey will inform practice and policy by contributing an important lived experience account of school attendance challenges and educational loss and exclusion.

Studies in this area have been inconclusive in their findings, have operated from a medical, and not a social model of disability, and have wrongly placed the blame for school attendance challenges on the parents (“educational neglect”, separation attachment) and on students with school attendance challenges (“truancy”, wilful defiance, school refusal). We hope that our survey findings will provide awareness, understanding, compassion, and action to improve the support and outcomes for students and their families.

We hope that this report will provide the following:

  • Greater awareness and understanding of school attendance challenges
  • A recognition of the importance of and need for ongoing training and resources on how to support students
  • An integration of comprehensive, tiered, school-wide, and barrier-reduced proactive approaches

We need to address these issues school and system-wide with the following:

  • Guidelines, policies, legislation, and procedures for schools
  • Educational accommodations for students that address learning needs when absent from and present at school.
  • Schooling models and approaches that meet the needs of all students.

We hope that this report will inspire educational change that supports the lives, health, education, and future potential of young people in Canada. It is time for awareness and comprehensive action.

Introduction​

Youth Mental Health Canada conducted a survey across the country in 2019 and 2020 focusing on students’ experiences with school attendance challenges which resulted in their avoidance of school and chronic absenteeism from school.

Our goal is to build awareness of school attendance challenges and to provide comprehensive, tiered, and school-wide strategies to support students.

We recognize the urgency: student attendance, chronic youth mental health challenges and youth suicide are public health crises in Canada.

We hope that this report will inspire educational change that supports the lives, health, education, and future of young people in Canada. It is time for awareness and comprehensive action.

Read the Survey Report