“School Absenteeism”: When Students Don’t Attend Class

2026-10-28 Lüneburg/Stuttgart. Everyone is probably familiar with the term “truant.” However, the term “school absenteeism” is intended to highlight the fact that there are many different reasons for missing class, as emotional stress or family problems can also be factors that cause young people to skip school.

The Council of Europe has now presented recommendations on how to address the problem of school absenteeism. Among others, it was advised by Professor Dr. Christine Sälzer of Leuphana University Lüneburg. In an interview, the education researcher explained the reasons for missing school and identified effective prevention strategies.
According to Sälzer, among the many reasons for school absenteeism is the feeling of not belonging at school or within the class community. Conflicts with classmates, learning difficulties, or unstable living situations can also play a role, the researcher notes.

Frequent absences can lead young people to drop out of school. This, in turn, increases the risks of unemployment and social exclusion. It is therefore important to respond to absences as early as possible and in a nuanced manner. Clear, pedagogically sound consequences can help students take responsibility and actively participate in school life again. The school community can also play a role in this regard.

Sälzer urges that schools not be left to handle this task alone. According to the researcher, policymakers and local governments must establish clear responsibilities and binding frameworks for collaboration between schools, youth welfare services, the healthcare system, and psychosocial services. It is crucial that warning signs are not only identified but also trigger timely support.

The full interview is available here for free use by newsrooms:

About Christine Sälzer
Prof. Christine Sälzer is an expert on international student achievement studies, school absenteeism, and career orientation in teacher education. Her research focuses, for example, on the factors that influence educational success and on how educational inequalities can be identified and reduced. From 2010 to 2017, Sälzer led the PISA study in Germany. Her research on school absenteeism dates back to her doctoral dissertation in 2010 at the Universities of Bern and Fribourg in Switzerland. After holding academic positions in Braunschweig, Stanford, Tübingen, Munich, and Heidelberg, she assumed the professorship in Educational Sciences at the University of Stuttgart in 2018. Sälzer has been a member of the faculty at Leuphana University Lüneburg since September 2026.

Further information can be found here.