NCRERN conducted a systematic review to better understand the current state of the descriptive and causal research on attendance conducted in rural settings. The studies below were identified as those having met NCRERN's selection criteria. Click here to learn more about the rural attendance systematic review methodology.
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Hunt, Melissa K., & Hopko, Derek R., 2009, Journal Article
The purpose of this study was to assess the relative predictive strength of certain variables (e.g., academic performance, religiosity, environmental factors, etc.) associated with truancy in a rural sample of students attending high school in a southern rural region of the Appalachian Mountains. Regression analysis indicated that truancy was significantly associated with poor school performance, increased depression, social problems, having a less educated mother, a less structured home environment, and decreased participation in school sports.
A Five-Year Follow-Up: Teachers' Perceptions of the Benefits of Home Visits for Early Elementary Children
Meyer, James A., Mann, Mary Beth, & Becker, Jennifer, 2011, Journal Article
The purpose of this study was to replicate previous research about teachers’ perceived benefits of home visits to determine if they remained stable and sought to find out whether home visits impacted variables often associated with improved school success (i.e., school attendance, academic performance, and parent engagement). Participants were rural teachers and reported beneficial relationships and better communication with parents, more appreciation of the influence of the child’s home environment related to school performance, and a better understanding of the child’s behavior in school in connection with the home visits.
Corporal Punishment and Student Outcomes in Rural Schools
Han, Seunghee, 2014, Journal Article
Results of descriptive statistics and multivariate regression analyses indicated that schools with corporal punishment may decrease students' violent behaviors and increase the attendance rate, yet those schools may have more student insubordination incidents and fewer students with academic aspirations than schools without corporal punishment.
Preliminary Evaluation of a School-Based Leadership and Prevention Program in Rural Alaska Native Communities
Wexler, Lisa et al., 2016, Journal Article
Youth Leaders Program (YLP) is a health intervention implemented in a rural Alaskan school district, which utilizes natural helpers and peer leaders to increase protective factors such as school engagement and personal/cultural identities, and to reduce risks associated with drug/alcohol abuse, violence, and bullying. Through these means, the program aims to ultimately decrease the disproportionately high rates of indigenous youth suicide in the region. Evaluation findings from the program during the 2013–2014 school year reveal that the YLP improves school climate and increase school and other protective factors for participating students.