AERO was commissioned by the Education Ministers to investigate student attendance in Australian schools.
About the project
From May to December 2023, the Australian Education Research Organisation (AERO) investigated student attendance in Australian schools at the request of Education Ministers, including:
- causes of the decline in student attendance
- evidence-based approaches that support attendance.
Our report, School Attendance: New Insights from AERO, drew on 3 activities:
- analysis of Australian Curriculum, Assessment and Reporting Authority attendance data
- rapid literature review on barriers to attendance/reasons for student absence
- rapid literature review on approaches to supporting attendance/addressing absence.
This work was overseen by a national working group comprised of representatives from each state and territory department of education, Independent Schools Australia, the National Catholic Education Commission, and the Australian Government. The working group provided input into the project design and outputs.
Keywords: educational data, actionable insights