Risky behaviors and absenteeism in adolescents: Exploring the role of homeroom teachers

Can homeroom teachers affect adolescents' risky behavior, school absenteeism and tardiness? To answer this, three main aspects of homeroom teachers' work: educational/pedagogical (encouraging academic engagement), social (encouragement of out-of-class communication) and emotional (emotional support) were examined in relation to adolescents' risky behavior, tardiness and absenteeism from class and school. Participants were 75 homeroom teachers and 752 students from 20 Arab high schools in Israel. Multilevel- SEM results showed that emotional support and encouragement of out-of-class communication negatively related to adolescents’ risky behavior, absenteeism (unexcused) and tardiness. Risky behavior was positively related to school and class absenteeism (excused/unexcused) and tardiness.