Take a look at some of the actionable insights
from SPARC’s research on students
experiencing absenteeism, bullying, and maltreatment that can
help inform school policies and programs to
support students’ wellbeing.
What Our Research is About: We delve into the
reasons why kindergarteners with disabilities are absent. We also
explain what drives the gap in rates of absenteeism between
kindergarteners with and without disabilities.
The Issue and Why It’s Important: Nationwide,
children with disabilities have chronic absence rates—missing 10%
or more of the school year—that are 1.5 times higher than their
peers without disabilities. When children with disabilities miss
school, they may miss out on vital school support services. They
also can miss out on interactions with their teachers and peers
that can contribute to their wellbeing, engagement and success.
This issue is important because there are school policies,
practices and programs that could better promote attendance among
children with disabilities and help reduce the attendance gap.
But given the complex reasons for absences, what can schools
focus on to potentially reduce absences among children with
disabilities?
Our Insights: We found that internalizing
behaviors (e.g., feeling withdrawn) in students with disabilities
and their parents’ health are significantly associated with
chronic absenteeism as well as help explain the absenteeism gap.
Implications for School Policies and Programs:
Reducing gaps in early absenteeism may require schools to
diagnose and address internalizing problem behaviors in young
children with disabilities and provide appropriate behavioral
supports to reduce those behaviors. Beyond the role of schools,
our work highlights the need to support the health and wellbeing
of adults caring for children with disabilities through
investments in the determinants of their health, such as access
to high quality health care.
Additional Studies on Absenteeism
Kim, C., Gee, K. A.,
Byrd, R. (2019). Excessive
absenteeism due to asthma in California
schoolchildren. Academic
Pediatrics. 20(7). 950-957.
Gee, K. A. (2018). Minding
the Gaps in Absenteeism: Disparities in Absenteeism by
Race/Ethnicity, Poverty and Disability. Journal of
Education for Students Placed at Risk. 23(1-2):
204-208.
Gottfried, M. A., Gee,
K. A. (2017). Identifying
the Determinants of Chronic Absenteeism: A Bioecological Systems
Approach. Teachers College Record. 119(7).
Gee, K. A. (2019). Variation in chronic
absenteeism: The role of children, classrooms and schools. In
M. Gottfried and E. Hutt (Eds.), Absent from School:
Understanding and Addressing Student Absenteeism. (pp.
35-52). Cambridge, MA: Harvard Education Press.
Chang, H. N., Gee, K. A., Hennessy, B.,
Alexandro, D, Gopalakrishnan, A. (2021).
Chronic absence patterns and prediction: Insights from
Connecticut. Attendance Works.
Gee, K. A. & Kim, C. (2019). Chronic
absence in California: What new dashboard data reveals about
school performance. Policy Analysis for California
Education (PACE) Policy Brief, Stanford University, Palo Alto,
California.
School Bullying and School Climate
What Our Research is About: We investigate the
role that school climate plays in reducing the negative
aftereffects of being bullied.
The Issue: While all schools have anti-bullying
policies and programs, students continue to be victimized and
bullied at school—nationwide, nearly 1 in 5
students were bullied during the school year. Given this,
what can schools do to lessen the impact that bullying has on
students’ wellbeing? Our research helps inform what schools can
do to better support students in the wake of being victimized.
Our Insights: Our results show a strong link
between school
climate—the overarching learning and social conditions of
schools that can help make students feel welcome, respected, and
engaged—and reductions in negative feelings after students were
victimized. In particular, stronger adult-student relationships
alongside policies that promote strict, yet fair school rules
were related to reductions in the negative aftereffects of being
bullied.
Implications for School Policy and Practice:
Policies and programs that focus on strengthening school climates
hold considerable promise for reducing the aftereffects of being
bullied.
Additional Studies on School Bullying
Gee, K. A. & Cooc, N. (2019). Will I be
victimized at school today? How schools influence the
victimization experiences of Asian American
teenagers. Asian American Journal of
Psychology. 10(4), 316–325.
Cooc, N., Gee, K. A. (2014). National
Trends in School Victimization Among Asian American
Adolescents. Journal of Adolescence. 37
(6): 839–849.
Gee, K. A., & Cho, R. (2014). The
Effects of Single-Sex versus Coeducational Schooling on
Adolescent Peer Victimization and
Perpetration. Journal of Adolescence. 37(8):
1237-1251.
Maltreated Youth and Access to Special Education
Services
What Our Research is About: I look at factors
that determine whether a child in the child welfare system will
receive special education services.
The Issue: Estimates show that as many as 25% of
maltreated children receive special education, double the rate
for children, overall. However, many children who have
experienced maltreatment and are involved in child welfare system
continue to be underserved by the special education system. Given
this, what determines whether child welfare involved youth will
receive special education services?
Our Insights: Our results show that children’s
prior involvement in special education services and whether
children have cognitive challenges helps predict receipt of
special education. Beyond these individual factors, children in
foster care versus those cared for by a biological parent are
more likely to receive special education services.
Implications for School Policy and Practice: The
link between foster care and special education services
underscores the importance of supports and resources that foster
families may need to promote the educational wellbeing of
children with disabilities under their care. Empowering foster
families with the know-how to advocate for educational services
could be beneficial.
Additional Studies on Maltreated Youth and Educational
Services
Gee, K. A., (2019). Maltreatment
profiles of child welfare-involved children in special education:
Classification and behavioral
consequences. Exceptional Children. 86(3):
237-254.