Date of Award

4-7-2025

Document Type

Dissertation

Degree Name

Doctor of Education (EdD)

Department

School of Education

First Advisor

Dane Joseph, PhD

Second Advisor

Jenelle Stone, PhD

Abstract

The purpose of this study was to increase parent involvement by using nudge theory to increase students’ overall attendance. This study addressed the issue of chronic absenteeism in K–12 schools in the current landscape of post-COVID-19 global pandemic where absenteeism has remained a persistent problem in Oregon. Chronic absenteeism affects student academics, behavior, and socioemotional well-being, displaying the importance of schools increasing their communication efforts with families. Attendance interventions have been used, but chronic absenteeism has remained at high levels postpandemic. Using nudge letters as an intervention is limited yet has proven to be effective in some schools in the Pacific Northwest. This study used a quantitative pre- and post-test design to collect data from Nudge Middle School’s student information system, Synergy. Data were gathered through Synergy and from a parent involvement survey, and they were analyzed using a paired t test to determine if nudge communication increased parents’ involvement, thus improving student attendance. Additionally, this study explored the changes in attendance for students receiving special education services and English learner students before and after the implementation of nudge theory. By using the theoretical framework of nudge theory, this study examined the effectiveness of an intervention that could quickly and cost-effectively be applied to all students in a school to address chronic absenteeism. Overall results displayed a significant decrease in student attendance after the nudge intervention; yet, the small effect size from the study meant that changes in attendance were probably due to outside factors. Key findings of this study included the importance of external and internal factors that families face, which make involvement difficult (e.g., transportation, illness, jobs). The nudge letter also may have had unintended negative impacts on attendance that contributed to the decrease, such as parents ii perceiving the letter as negative or paternalistic. This study identified the need to conduct a longitudinal study to see if the effect of nudging is more effective over time, because nudging works by using small, incremental changes over time.

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