Students who are truant from school may result in their becoming academically and socially unprepared to enter the work force. In an age in which higher paying jobs require technical skills from workers, employees with minimal skills and academic preparation have a negative social and fiscal impact upon the school community and the larger social order of the country.

The purpose of this study examines the problem through personal, in-depth interviews of students identified as truants in order to provide a deeper understanding of the phenomena and the critical effects upon their academic and social development. Eight individual students are interviewed, examining their lived experiences as it relates to their education through a collective case study methodology. The reconstruction of these students' reflections on life events provides a subjective analysis of their school attendance, with implications for educators to begin prevention and intervention strategies prior the onset of the middle school experience.