School Refusal or Truancy? A Qualitative Study of Misconceptions Among School Personnel About Absenteeism of Children From Immigrant Families
BackgroundSchool refusal is a form of school attendance problem (SAP) distinct from truancy, school withdrawal, and school exclusion; it requires specific mental health care. Schools' identification and referral to care of school refusers depends on school personnel's interpretation of the...
| Main Authors: | , , , |
|---|---|
| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
| Published: |
Frontiers Media S.A.
2020-03-01
|
| Series: | Frontiers in Psychiatry |
| Subjects: | |
| Online Access: | https://www.frontiersin.org/article/10.3389/fpsyt.2020.00202/full |
| _version_ | 1828884386474360832 |
|---|---|
| author | Robin Martin Jean Pierre Benoit Marie Rose Moro Marie Rose Moro Marie Rose Moro Laelia Benoit Laelia Benoit Laelia Benoit |
| author_facet | Robin Martin Jean Pierre Benoit Marie Rose Moro Marie Rose Moro Marie Rose Moro Laelia Benoit Laelia Benoit Laelia Benoit |
| author_sort | Robin Martin |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | BackgroundSchool refusal is a form of school attendance problem (SAP) distinct from truancy, school withdrawal, and school exclusion; it requires specific mental health care. Schools' identification and referral to care of school refusers depends on school personnel's interpretation of the reasons for absences. Because cultural factors can induce misunderstanding of the young people's behavior and of their parents' attitudes toward school attendance, school personnel can have difficulty understanding these reasons for children with transcultural backgrounds (migrants or children of migrants). The aim of this study was to explore the experiences and opinions of school personnel, mainly teachers, related to school refusal among these students.MethodsGrounded theory methodology was used to conduct 52 qualitative interviews of school personnel in two regions of France. Their daily practices with students presenting with school refusal were addressed in general (i.e., in response to absence of all youth) and in transcultural contexts (i.e., absence of migrant children or children of migrants). This study analyzed the interviews of the 30 participants who reported working with students from transcultural backgrounds.ResultsMany school personnel reported experiencing difficulties, ambivalence, and destabilizing feelings in situations involving immigrant families whose school culture differed from their own. Talking about culture appeared to be taboo for most participants. These situations challenged the participants' usual strategies and forced them to devise new ones to deal with these young people and their families. Although some personnel were at risk of developing exclusionary attitudes, others dealt with school refusal with both commitment and creativity.ConclusionThe tensions experienced by these participants reveal contradictions between the French universalist ideology and the reality of daily life in schools becoming increasingly multicultural. School personnel's attitudes toward children with transcultural backgrounds presenting with school refusal can affect children's access to care and shape social inequalities. Further research should develop, implement, and assess interventions including transcultural training of school personnel, improved use of interpreters at school for migrant families, and the addition of a transcultural dimension to SAP assessment scales, especially for school refusal. |
| first_indexed | 2024-12-13T11:06:55Z |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj.art-ced414c931734e438b28eda7f35e9367 |
| institution | Directory Open Access Journal |
| issn | 1664-0640 |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2024-12-13T11:06:55Z |
| publishDate | 2020-03-01 |
| publisher | Frontiers Media S.A. |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Frontiers in Psychiatry |
| spelling | doaj.art-ced414c931734e438b28eda7f35e93672022-12-21T23:48:58ZengFrontiers Media S.A.Frontiers in Psychiatry1664-06402020-03-011110.3389/fpsyt.2020.00202501909School Refusal or Truancy? A Qualitative Study of Misconceptions Among School Personnel About Absenteeism of Children From Immigrant FamiliesRobin Martin0Jean Pierre Benoit1Marie Rose Moro2Marie Rose Moro3Marie Rose Moro4Laelia Benoit5Laelia Benoit6Laelia Benoit7Maison des Adolescents de Saint-Denis, Saint-Denis Hospital, Saint Denis, FranceMaison des Adolescents de Saint-Denis, Saint-Denis Hospital, Saint Denis, FranceMaison des Adolescents—Maison de Solenn, Hôpital Cochin, APHP, Paris, FranceUniversity of Paris, Medical School, Faculty of Psychology, PCPP, Boulogne-Billancourt, FranceCenter for Research in Epidemiology and Population Health (CESP), Paris-Sud and UVSQ Medical Schools, French National Institute of Health and Medical Research (Inserm), Team DevPsy, Villejuif, FranceMaison des Adolescents—Maison de Solenn, Hôpital Cochin, APHP, Paris, FranceUniversity of Paris, Medical School, Faculty of Psychology, PCPP, Boulogne-Billancourt, FranceCenter for Research in Epidemiology and Population Health (CESP), Paris-Sud and UVSQ Medical Schools, French National Institute of Health and Medical Research (Inserm), Team DevPsy, Villejuif, FranceBackgroundSchool refusal is a form of school attendance problem (SAP) distinct from truancy, school withdrawal, and school exclusion; it requires specific mental health care. Schools' identification and referral to care of school refusers depends on school personnel's interpretation of the reasons for absences. Because cultural factors can induce misunderstanding of the young people's behavior and of their parents' attitudes toward school attendance, school personnel can have difficulty understanding these reasons for children with transcultural backgrounds (migrants or children of migrants). The aim of this study was to explore the experiences and opinions of school personnel, mainly teachers, related to school refusal among these students.MethodsGrounded theory methodology was used to conduct 52 qualitative interviews of school personnel in two regions of France. Their daily practices with students presenting with school refusal were addressed in general (i.e., in response to absence of all youth) and in transcultural contexts (i.e., absence of migrant children or children of migrants). This study analyzed the interviews of the 30 participants who reported working with students from transcultural backgrounds.ResultsMany school personnel reported experiencing difficulties, ambivalence, and destabilizing feelings in situations involving immigrant families whose school culture differed from their own. Talking about culture appeared to be taboo for most participants. These situations challenged the participants' usual strategies and forced them to devise new ones to deal with these young people and their families. Although some personnel were at risk of developing exclusionary attitudes, others dealt with school refusal with both commitment and creativity.ConclusionThe tensions experienced by these participants reveal contradictions between the French universalist ideology and the reality of daily life in schools becoming increasingly multicultural. School personnel's attitudes toward children with transcultural backgrounds presenting with school refusal can affect children's access to care and shape social inequalities. Further research should develop, implement, and assess interventions including transcultural training of school personnel, improved use of interpreters at school for migrant families, and the addition of a transcultural dimension to SAP assessment scales, especially for school refusal.https://www.frontiersin.org/article/10.3389/fpsyt.2020.00202/fullschool refusaltruancyteacherschool personnelimmigrant youthminorities |
| spellingShingle | Robin Martin Jean Pierre Benoit Marie Rose Moro Marie Rose Moro Marie Rose Moro Laelia Benoit Laelia Benoit Laelia Benoit School Refusal or Truancy? A Qualitative Study of Misconceptions Among School Personnel About Absenteeism of Children From Immigrant Families Frontiers in Psychiatry school refusal truancy teacher school personnel immigrant youth minorities |
| title | School Refusal or Truancy? A Qualitative Study of Misconceptions Among School Personnel About Absenteeism of Children From Immigrant Families |
| title_full | School Refusal or Truancy? A Qualitative Study of Misconceptions Among School Personnel About Absenteeism of Children From Immigrant Families |
| title_fullStr | School Refusal or Truancy? A Qualitative Study of Misconceptions Among School Personnel About Absenteeism of Children From Immigrant Families |
| title_full_unstemmed | School Refusal or Truancy? A Qualitative Study of Misconceptions Among School Personnel About Absenteeism of Children From Immigrant Families |
| title_short | School Refusal or Truancy? A Qualitative Study of Misconceptions Among School Personnel About Absenteeism of Children From Immigrant Families |
| title_sort | school refusal or truancy a qualitative study of misconceptions among school personnel about absenteeism of children from immigrant families |
| topic | school refusal truancy teacher school personnel immigrant youth minorities |
| url | https://www.frontiersin.org/article/10.3389/fpsyt.2020.00202/full |
| work_keys_str_mv | AT robinmartin schoolrefusalortruancyaqualitativestudyofmisconceptionsamongschoolpersonnelaboutabsenteeismofchildrenfromimmigrantfamilies AT jeanpierrebenoit schoolrefusalortruancyaqualitativestudyofmisconceptionsamongschoolpersonnelaboutabsenteeismofchildrenfromimmigrantfamilies AT marierosemoro schoolrefusalortruancyaqualitativestudyofmisconceptionsamongschoolpersonnelaboutabsenteeismofchildrenfromimmigrantfamilies AT marierosemoro schoolrefusalortruancyaqualitativestudyofmisconceptionsamongschoolpersonnelaboutabsenteeismofchildrenfromimmigrantfamilies AT marierosemoro schoolrefusalortruancyaqualitativestudyofmisconceptionsamongschoolpersonnelaboutabsenteeismofchildrenfromimmigrantfamilies AT laeliabenoit schoolrefusalortruancyaqualitativestudyofmisconceptionsamongschoolpersonnelaboutabsenteeismofchildrenfromimmigrantfamilies AT laeliabenoit schoolrefusalortruancyaqualitativestudyofmisconceptionsamongschoolpersonnelaboutabsenteeismofchildrenfromimmigrantfamilies AT laeliabenoit schoolrefusalortruancyaqualitativestudyofmisconceptionsamongschoolpersonnelaboutabsenteeismofchildrenfromimmigrantfamilies |