Lisa McKay-Brown

Associate Professor Lisa McKay-Brown is the Associate Dean Diversity and Inclusion at the Faculty of Education, University of Melbourne. Lisa has over 25 years of teaching and leadership experience in a wide range of education settings with a specific focus on the inclusion of students with disability. Internationally recognised for her research in the field of school attendance, she also serves on the Executive Board of the International Network for School Attendance. Lisa is involved in research projects that impact both the education and health sectors, and leads the Faculty of Education Disability Research Collaboration, overseeing projects such as the In2School programs for chronic school absenteeism and Pathways2Participation aimed at enhancing school attendance using Multi-tiered Systems of Support. Lisa is involved in international collaborations centred in inclusive education in India and Latin America. She is particularly interested in how young people with mental health disorders and other disabilities are marginalised by education settings and how this can be challenged.

We have a Tier 1 problem: reframing responses to school attendance

School attendance and school attendance problems (SAPs) are a national concern for the education sector. The impact of SAPs may lead to outcomes that are detrimental to young people, their families, and the wider community. SAPs impact youth through the loss of valuable educational opportunities and contribute to poorer wellbeing outcomes. Australian data indicates that students with disability, students from First Nations and low SES backgrounds, and students living in remote and very remote communities have disproportionately low attendance when compared with other groups of students. Recent research with Victorian schools suggests that there is a Tier 1 problem when responding to school attendance. This presentation will examine the school, student and family factors that contribute to student absence and explore how approaches embedded within Multi-tiered Systems of Support can target improved school attendance.