Louis Volante, Professor of Education at Brock University, and Livianna Tossutti, Associate Professor of Political Science at Brock University, co-wrote a piece in The Conversation about the importance of policies to support low socio-economic students. The piece was written along with Don Klinger, Professor and Pro Vice-Chancellor of Te Wānanga Toi Tangata Division of Education at the University of Waikato, and Melissa Siegel, Professor of Migration Studies and Head of Migration Studies at the Maastricht Graduate School of Governance and UNU-MERIT.

They write:

“There is no doubt that COVID-19 has significantly impacted our lives, including schools and education. Temporary closures of school buildings have highlighted how factors outside school systems affect schools’ capacity to meet students’ needs and support academic achievement. For example, elementary schools can only successfully deliver online education if children have an adult or responsible caregiver with them or they have a reliable internet connection.

There is a large body of research that underscores the importance of particular policies that can support low socio-economic students as well as policies that align with the most effective education systems globally.

These areas include investing in quality early childhood education, providing adequate mental health and technology support to benefit children in primary and secondary school and funding for post-secondary students. Policy in all these areas can be considered social protection policies. According to UNICEF, such policy reduces “the lifelong consequences of poverty and exclusion.”

Continue reading the full article here.