Attachment theory as a lens for examining quiet students to prevent school avoidance

There are multiple, multifactorial reasons why students stop attending school. This phenomenon may be understood as students’ inability to regulate their attachment to the school community due to heightened feelings of anxiety and stress. Although there is neither a single profile nor a universal definition for a school-avoidant student, a common theme is if they perceive the school community as emotionally unsafe in meeting their emotional needs, they will become disengaged. A newly designed scale, the School Personnel Perceptions of a Quiet Student (SPPQS), was developed to better understand school avoidant students’ tenuous attachment to the school community. A school-avoidant student was defined as a quiet student who either hesitates or has an aversion to engaging in a collaborative learning environment. The study sought to understand how school personnel perceived quiet students who did not have overt maladaptive behaviours, but seemed unattached, disengaged. The SPPQS provided a structured way to understand how school personnel view quiet students who may be hesitant to engage with the school community and are thus at risk for school avoidance. The results emphasised the importance of interventions, ongoing monitoring, and building connections between quiet students and their school community to enhance and promote academic success.