In Chile there is a widespread belief that illness and student vulnerability are the main reasons for school absenteeism. However, when we review the attendance data of 16 thousand students in the country, we see a pattern that calls our attention: in all of the analyzed schools and at all levels of education, Friday is the day with the lowest attendance to classes. This data does not provide us with answers, but it obligatorily leads us to ask ourselves questions about our beliefs regarding the reasons for being absent: what happens on Fridays, is it that vulnerability increases or that viruses become stronger? At Fundación Educacional Presente we have been studying attendance and absenteeism behaviors for 10 years, accompanying more than 150 public and private schools throughout Chile. Through this experience, we have come to the conclusion that the main reason for missing classes is the low valuation and little information that the school community has about the importance of attending classes. In practice, this means that parents and students have few arguments in favor of attending classes, which leads them to choose to be absent when difficulties arise. By no means do we deny that families face numerous daily difficulties and challenges, economic needs, logistical difficulties, scarcity of support networks and learned fears. On the contrary, it is precisely because of these difficulties that we must make a stronger case for going to school. We emphasize once again the importance of investing efforts in making each school day meaningful and relevant for students. And in making the school community aware of the importance of attending classes every day, starting in kindergarten. We cannot take charge of all the reasons for absence, but we can take charge of those that have to do with what happens -or does not happen- in our schools. We invite the communities to review these intra-school factors in order to position education as a priority for families and ensure that schoolchildren attend classes every day. This is the only way to prevent absenteeism from stealing the dreams of our children and young people.
Rebeca Molina
Executive Director
Fundación Educacional Presente
