What Do We Know About School Attendance in Canada?

“Attendance has always been a symptom, rather than a cause, a manifestation of complex issues across the education system and beyond.”

— Burtonshaw & Dorrell, 2023 Burtonshaw, S. & Dorrell, E. (2023) Listening to, and learning from, parents in the attendance crisis. Public First.

Across Canada and around the world, school attendance challenges have emerged as one of the most pressing issues in child and youth mental health, educational equity, disability inclusion, and suicide prevention. Attendance challenges are not a matter of refusal, avoidance, truancy, and wilful defiance; they are a visible sign of invisible struggles and systemic barriers in education. Schools are a crucial site of protective factors. Some of these factors include safety, belonging, support, and hope.

For more information about regional attendance issues, see Research.