“I Missed School to Take Care of Someone Else”: Middle and High School Students' Caregiving Responsibilities as a Reason for Absenteeism

Abstract

BACKGROUND

Middle and high school students who are involved in caregiving for aging, chronically ill, and/or disabled family members report more learning challenges compared to their non-caregiving peers. However, little is known about how many students miss school to take care of someone else, and which students are most likely to have this experience. Such knowledge could reveal an important, largely unrecognized reason for school absences and educational disparities.

METHODS

Our research-practice partnership surveyed middle-and-high schoolers across Rhode Island public schools in 2022.

RESULTS

Among 55,746 students (45% White non-Latinx; 21% Latinx; 45% girls), 13.80% reported they had missed school to take care of someone else, with up to 35% in some districts. Students who missed school for caregiving were disproportionately girls, non-binary, transgender, or preferred not to report gender, older youth, and from historically marginalized racial and ethnic groups, and from urban districts.

CONCLUSIONS

Children's experiences caregiving for others may be an important and overlooked contributor to absenteeism and achievement gaps, especially in urban areas. We suggest school policies to better serve these students.