Teachers' perceptions of school phobic and truant behaviour and the influence of the youth tutor

Teachers are often initiators of referrals to either statutory or theraputic agencies. A perennial problem is that of non‐school‐attendance which can be schematically defined as school phobia and truancy. There is considerable evidence that this categorisation has some validity. Consequently it is important for teachers to be able to differentiate between the two conditions, as the child probably requires different regimes. This study examined a sample of teachers drawn from secondary schools in which there was a Youth Tutor present, and from schools who had no Youth Tutor. It was found that there were clear statistical significant differences in the perceptions of teachers of school phobia and truancy from the different type of schools. The teachers from the Youth Tutor Schools were more inclined to be child, parent, and socially orientated than their counterparts. The practical implications of the findings are discussed.