Pupil absence and IMD
In a study by the University of Sheffield’s Social & Spatial Inequalities Research Group, the Indices of Multiple Deprivation were used to look at pupil absence inequalities. Secondary school pupil absence is an indicator in the Education, Skills and Training Domain of the IMD, measured as “the proportion of authorised and unauthorised absences from secondary school”.
In the study the authors compared pupil absence from IMD2004 and IMD2007 – the data for which comes from around 2001 and 2005 respectively. They noted the geographical nature of this, with absence high in deprived areas. They also found a reduction in absence across the board as well as a narrowing of inequalities as the gap between the top and bottom deciles decreased. This shows how indicators from the indices can be pulled out for highly specific comparisons over time. Information is from page 32 of the study.