Date

11-13-2025

Department

School of Education

Degree

Doctor of Philosophy in Education (PhD)

Chair

Arrin Brummett

Keywords

school refusal, self-efficacy, school attendance problems, secondary students, special education

Disciplines

Education | Special Education and Teaching

Abstract

The purpose of this quantitative predictive correlational design study was to examine the predictive ability of self-reported self-efficacy beliefs and school refusal behavioral functions on secondary students’ attendance percentages. This study was critical because there needs to be a better understanding of the causes of school refusal and successful interventions for school refusal, since students with disabilities who engage in their education as adolescents become more successful adults. The sample was comprised of 110 secondary students with disabilities, aged 12–17, attending secondary schools within the ABC School District in a western state of the United States. Data were collected using the School Refusal Assessment Scale-Child-Revised (SRAS-C-R) and the Self-Efficacy Questionnaire for Children (SEQ-C). Questions from both scales were typed into a Google Form and provided to students to complete during their study hall classes. The results of the multiple linear regression tests did not find a predictive correlation between student self-efficacy beliefs and student attendance rates. There was also no predictive correlation between student school refusal behavior functions and student attendance rates. Self-efficacy beliefs and school refusal behavior functions were not found to have predictive correlations with student attendance rates. Further research is needed with larger student populations that have more significant demographic variability and with populations that do and do not include students with disabilities to verify these results.

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