Nudging kids to school with Emily Bailard and Steven Masnajak
Before the pandemic, we saw about one in six students was chronically absent: missing 10% or more days. Now that number has grown . . . it’s about one in four, possibly even one in three.
Listen to this episode
Intro
In this episode of the podcast, Brooke speaks to Emily Bailard and Steven Masnajak from Everyday Labs, an organization that applies behavioral science to improve student outcomes. They discuss the growing issue of chronic absenteeism in schools across the United States and how nudges and other behavioral interventions can be used to keep kids in school and engage with their families. Some of the things covered include:
- What leads to chronic absenteeism and the barriers to effective school participation.
- Its impact on student success, grade levels and the likelihood of progression to college.
- How COVID exacerbated some of the underlying factors that lead to chronic absenteeism.
- The role of nudges in engaging family members and communicating the importance of school participation.
- Practical steps that teachers and education officials can take to make their student engagement policies more behaviorally informed and ultimately, more effective.
