Exploring family-school engagement to support student attendance

Declining school attendance has become an increasing concern across many education systems internationally. Contemporary research has linked attendance issues to multifaceted barriers that students experience across home, school, and community, with family-school-community partnerships showing promise as an approach to improve attendance. However, family engagement in the partnerships is often shaped by interactions with schools and opportunities for parental agency. How schools can effectively engage families to support student attendance remains an important area for further research. Given their roles in overseeing school processes and practices, school leaders may provide valuable insights into fostering effective family-school engagement. The present qualitative study explored school leaders’ perspectives on working in partnerships with families to support student attendance. Semi-structured interviews were conducted with 18 Australian school leaders working in low socioeconomic communities where attendance problems are more prevalent. Findings highlighted the importance of creating welcoming school environments, building trust through communication and relationships, recognising the value families placed on education, and understanding families’ capacity to support student attendance. More broadly, family engagement was perceived to be facilitated by positive and inclusive school climates focused on strengthening family-school relationships, such as through approaches grounded in care. These insights provide important implications for fostering family-school partnerships in supporting student attendance.