It is estimated that nationwide about 5% of all students are active school truants, with this 5% likely marking the lower limit. In addition to the rising cases of school absenteeism, more than 85,000 students, or approximately 9% of the age cohort, left school without a diploma in the 2001/2002 school year. Young people who do not achieve a school diploma due to their frequent absences quickly fall into long-term unemployment. Therefore, it is particularly important for those involved in the teaching and learning process to address the respective causes and intervention possibilities of school absenteeism. But what exactly is meant by school absenteeism? What forms does this term encompass, and what can teachers do in particular to prevent or combat school absenteeism? Due to these and other questions, it is.