Running Head: TRAUNCY DEFINITIONS IN US AND OTHER TERRITORIES Truancy: A LOOK AT DEFINITIONS IN THE US AND OTHER TERRITORIES Submitted by: Corresponding Author Carolyn Gentle-Genitty, PhD Interim Director of BSW Program Assistant Professor IU School of Social Work 902 West New York Street, ES 4138K Indianapolis, IN 46202 317-274-3965
[email protected] Isaac Karikari, PhD Student IU School of Social Work 902 West New York Street, ES 4162 Indianapolis, IN 46202
[email protected] Haiping Chen, MA, PhD student IU School of Social Work 902 West New York Street, ES 4162 Email:
[email protected] Eric Wilka, MSW IU School of Social Work 902 West New York Street, ES 4162 Indianapolis, IN 46202
[email protected] Jangmin Kim, PhD Student IU School of Social Work 902 West New York Street, ES 4162 Indianapolis, IN 46202
[email protected] This is the author's manuscript of the article published in final edited form as: Gentle-Genitty, C., Karikari, I., Chen, H., Wilka, E., & Kim, J. (2015). Truancy: a look at definitions in the USA and other territories. Educational Studies, 41(1–2), 62–90. https://doi.org/10.1080/03055698.2014.955734 OPERATIONAL DEFINITIONS OF TRUANCY 2 Abstract There is no shortage of definitions for truancy. One state may house many different definitions and there are a variety of challenges arising from this fact. One of the most important to researchers, policy makers, and educators alike, is that because of the lack of uniformly and consistency, it is difficult to compile and ascertain the totality of the phenomenon.