Missing from school : A literature review of school refusal behavior

Increasing attention is being paid to the phenomenon of school refusing behaviour. Schools and other professionals are actively working to improve student attendance however the demand for knowledge of how to work with long term absence is significant. Without proper insight the wrong actions might be taken and make the issue worse. The aim with this study is to investigate how the problems and working methods in regards to school refusal behaviour can be understood. The study is based on a literature review of 16 academic articles and the result present six main themes, central for the purpose of the study. By applying ecological development theory as well as risk and protective factor theory the study concludes that school refusal behaviour is a complex problem and the young person with school refusing behaviour needs to be holistically understood in respect to the specific life situation of the individual and risk factors need to be understood as cumulative. Proper timing and intensity of interventions are of great significance as well as interprofessional cooperation and having a good alliance with the family, all of which is concluded to be of difficulty. It is also found that school refusal behaviour to a greater extent should be considered a societal issue instead of merely an individual problem