Fixing Truancy Now

Bruce S. Cooper, PhD, is professor of education leadership at Fordham University Graduate School of Education, NYC. He co-authored the book Truancy Revisited with Rita Guare, which updates and reexamines the issue.Jon Shute is an assistant professor in the School of Education at Brigham Young University-Hawaii. He has over 15 years teaching experience in elementary and secondary classrooms. He also has a strong background working with at-risk students, as well as English language learners and students from diverse ethnicities.

Across the US, various institutional and societal barriers affect student success. Among the barriers are poverty, violence, and a lack of institutional resources. When it comes to absenteeism and truancy, many school organizations continue to offer only negative consequences to struggling students. In this book, Shute and Cooper examine the issue of truancy as it pertains to the changing student population—particularly ethnic minority students and English language learners—and educational challenges unique to our times. After providing a thorough review of truancy, data analyses, and a discussion of truancy's long-lasting effects, the authors guide readers through a thoughtful examination of past and current recommended practices. Recommended practices include making genuine efforts to foster collaboration between home and school and providing professional development to help educators become culturally competent. Although the text does not address every issue related to truancy, the discussion is focused and serves as an effective impetus to facilitate professional reflection. The book will be very useful for both current and future educators, as well as professionals in ancillary fields. Summing Up: Highly recommended. Lower-division undergraduates and above.

• Chapter 1: Understanding and Defining TruancyChapter 2: “Surrounding The Wrong Building”Chapter 3: Truancy By The NumbersChapter 4: The Ethnic Minority And English Language Learner Journey Of EducationChapter 5: Truancy And EthnicityChapter 6: Listening To The TruantsChapter 7: Truancy Among Speakers Of English As A Second LanguageChapter 8: Shifting The Prevailing Winds Of EducationChapter 9: A Good TeacherChapter 10: Fixing Truancy