Reducing Truancy in Students with Mild Handicaps

Abstract

The purpose of the present study was to investigate the effects of an intervention that combined contingency contracting with group counseling on rates of unexcused absences from school, academic grade point average, and rates of grade retention for students with mild handicaps. The subjects were 26 students with high rates of truancy from a comprehensive middle school in an urban school system. Data on rates of truancy and academic performance were collected at three 10-week intervals: pretreatment, posttreatment, and 10 weeks after treatment procedures were concluded. Rates of truancy for students in the experimental condition were significantly reduced at the conclusion of the 10-week treatment period. Unfortunately, gains in attendance for the experimental group did not maintain at posttreatment levels when assessed at follow-up. However, experimental group students' rates of truancy at follow-up did not approach the levels demonstrated by students assigned to the control condition. Measures of academic performance were inconclusive. Results of the study are analyzed and recommendations for future research and practice are offered.

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