ABSTRACT
This paper explores the extent to which pupils, through non-attendance, do not take up their full entitlement to schooling. Using statistics from Scotland and elsewhere, this paper explores the nature and extent of the problem, reasons and measures used to address attendance in the UK. This paper also discusses different perspectives of non-adherence to the entitlement of schooling, including that of truancy as a form of ‘opting out’ of the mainstream education system.
