Listening to the stories of parents whose children have experienced school non-attendance

Accessing a formal education is often viewed as being beneficial to the holistic development
of Children and Young people (CYP); providing them with the opportunity to gain
qualifications and to develop important life skills (Le Riche, 1995). A wealth of literature
exists which attempts to conceptualise attendance difficulties experienced by CYP and to
measure the effectiveness of interventions designed to improve their attendance. However,
the research typically employs quantitative methodologies and is often situated within the
medical model. This has encouraged a within-child and -family view of non-attendance and
has meant that the voices of those affected have been given little attention.

Appreciating the heterogeneity of CYP attendance difficulties I sought to explore the
individual experiences of four parents whose children: had experienced school non-
attendance; and were described as being worried about school.

A critical realist positionality was adopted and narrative interviews were employed to
enable parents to share their stories. Interviews were audio recorded, transcribed and
individually analysed using the Listening Guide (Woodcock, 2016). This process of analysis
enabled me to attend to the individual voices and experiences of participants. Further, the
use of voice poems facilitated a rich understanding of parental experiences of professional
involvement.

Findings were considered in relation to previous research in the field and the power threat
and meaning framework. This supported an understanding of how parents perceive and
experience their child’s non-attendance within a context of professional power and legal
threats. Implications for educational psychologists are discussed. Educational psychologists
are encouraged to: be mindful of the power they and other professionals hold; use narrative
approaches to enable parents’ stories to be heard; and to use consultation skills to support
shared understandings of CYP non-attendance ensuring CYP and parent views are at the
centre enabling them to be the experts in their own lives.