The OECD warns that rising school absenteeism in Spain is becoming a global challenge

The OECD has warned that school absenteeism problems are no longer a marginal issue, but have become a challenge that affects classrooms in almost all developed countries, although in some more than others, and in Spain the trend is increasing, especially at the Primary stage.

Every day counts. Understanding, preventing and responding to school attendance problems is the latest OECD report that indicates a "constant" increase between 2015 and 2023 in the absences of Spanish schoolchildren (once a week or every two weeks) and that moves away from the average trend shown by the rest of the developed countries, which stood at 15% in 2023.

"Spain belongs to a group of nine educational systems (along with countries such as Chile, Finland, Italy and the United States) where absenteeism never decreased and grew steadily throughout the period," says this organization, which points out that Chile and Slovakia have the highest rates and Japan and Korea the lowest.

In its study, the OECD highlights that absenteeism trajectories usually begin early and tend to persist: "Previous absences are one of the most reliable indicators of future absences."

36% of students who suffered prolonged absences in secondary school had already presented this same problem during primary education.

And experts remember that they have very negative repercussions on both the academic performance and the student's social skills. School absences are associated with lower executive functioning, lower motivation, lower perseverance, and lower educational aspirations; some factors that can further undermine learning capacity.

Absences in primary school impact the development of fundamental skills and in secondary school they can lead to behavioral problems as they coincide with important academic and maturational development transitions.

What causes cause school absenteeism?

Physical and mental health problems, lack of motivation, family difficulties, housing instability or care responsibilities are critical factors, but the perception of lack of relevance or family conflicts can also alter routines.

Bullying and poor communication between school and family contribute to a higher number of absences, as does poor coordination between educational centers and external services.

The OECD points out that primary school students whose parents have higher education record lower absenteeism rates than their peers whose parents do not, with a difference of up to 7 points.

Another factor that is growing is the tolerance of parents towards the absence of their sons and daughters due to minor illnesses or vacations during the school term. "After the pandemic, a change in parental attitudes and a relaxation of rules regarding the importance of attending daily has been observed," the report states.

What can be done?

Policies focused on inclusion and providing specific supports contribute to improving care, while rigid or excessively coercive responses can reinforce inequalities and worsen the situation.

"Many systems use punitive or fine-based measures. These approaches may have short-term effects, but are unlikely to reduce truancy in a lasting way on their own," the educators emphasize.