Distinguished Professor (PhD)
Available for Graduate Advisement
(905) 688-5550 ext. 6077
lvolante@brocku.ca
Louis Volante (PhD) is a Distinguished Professor at Brock University and a Professorial Fellow at UNU-MERIT / Maastricht Graduate School of Governance (MGSoG). He has held visiting professor appointments in England (University College London), the Netherlands (UNU-MERIT), and Canada (University of Toronto). Dr. Volante provides consultancy to various national and international organizations such as the OECD, UNESCO, and the European Commission. He has also served as the President of the Canadian Society for the Study of Education (CSSE) and the Canadian Educational Researchers’ Association (CERA).
Professor Volante’s interdisciplinary scholarship focuses on the global governance of education; politics, policy, and large-scale reform; political economy of education systems; international achievement surveys and policy diffusion; and impact evaluation of policies and programmes. His research is widely cited in both academic and policy communities and has received continuous funding from the Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council of Canada (SSHRC). His current SSHRC funded research examines the short- and long-term impact of the pandemic on student outcomes. He is fortunate to have a publication record that has included collaborations with over 150 scholars to examine 30 different national education systems.
Among his various distinctions, Professor Volante is a two-time recipient of the R.W.B. Jackson Publication Award, which is awarded annually by CSSE to recognize the most outstanding English language journal article. He has been featured as an educational change expert by research societies such as the American Educational Research Association (AERA). At Brock University, Professor Volante teaches graduate courses that focus on politics and policy in education; educational change; educational leadership; comparative education; and innovative assessment. At the undergraduate level, he primarily teaches work and learning in organizations. Louis completed his Ph.D. at the University of Toronto with a focus on policy studies after receiving a UofT Open Scholarship from the School of Graduate Studies.
My current research is primarily focused on the following themes:
- Global governance of education
- Politics, policy, and large-scale reform
- Political economy of education systems
- International achievement surveys and policy diffusion
- Impact evaluation of policies and programmes
- American Educational Research Association (AERA)
- Association for Public Policy Analysis and Management (APPAM)
- Canadian Educational Researchers’ Association (CERA)
- Canadian Evaluation Society (CES)
- Canadian Society for the Study of Education (CSSE)
- Comparative and International Education Society (CIES)
Recent Publications (Since 2020)
Edited Books
Schnepf, S., Volante, L., Klinger, D. A., Giancola, O., & Salmieri, L. (Eds.) (2024). The pandemic, socioeconomic disadvantage, and learning outcomes: cross-national impact analyses of education policy reforms. Publications Office of the European Union. https://data.europa.eu/doi/10.2760/800165
Volante, L., & Schnepf, S., & Klinger, D. (Eds.) (2022). Cross-national achievement surveys for monitoring educational outcomes: Policies, practices, and political reforms within the European Union. Publications Office of the European Union.
https://op.europa.eu/en/publication-detail/-/publication/2eefff1b-e21a-11ec-a534-01aa75ed71a1/language-en
Chapters in Books
Volante, L. (2023). The PISA pendulum: Political discourse and education reform in the age of global reference societies. In P. Mattei, X. Dumay, E. Mangez, & J. Behrend (Eds.), OUP Handbook on Education and Globalization(pp. 535-549). Oxford University Press.
Volante, L., & Klinger, D. A. (2023). Migrant integration, equality of opportunity, and education policy: a scoping review with future research and strategic planning implications. In M. Sardoc, (Ed.), Handbook of Equality of Opportunity. Springer. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-52269-2_61-1
Refereed Journal Articles
Volante, L., & Klinger, D. A. (2022). PISA, global reference societies, and policy borrowing: The promises and pitfalls of academic resilience. Policy Futures in Education. https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/10.1177/14782103211069002
Volante, L., Lara, C., Klinger, D. A., & Siegel, M. (2022). Academic resilience during the COVID-19 pandemic: a triarchic analysis of education policy developments across Canada. Canadian Journal of Education, 45(4), 1112-1140. https://doi.org/10.53967/cje-rce.5555
Hassan, E., Groot, W., & Volante, L. (2022). Education funding and learning outcomes in Sub-Saharan Africa: A review of reviews. International Journal of Educational Research Open, 3, 1-13. https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S2666374022000577
Volante, L. & Klinger, D. A. (2021). PISA and education reform in Europe: cases of policy inertia, avoidance, and refraction. European Education, 53(1), 45-56. https://doi.org/10.1080/10564934.2021.1987839
Volante, L., Klinger, D. A., & Siegel, M. (2021). Confronting the challenge of immigrant and refugee student underachievement: a comparative analysis of education policies and programs in Canada, New Zealand, and England. Comparative and International Education, 49(2), 35-50. https://doi.org/10.5206/cieeci.v50i1.10882
Volante, L., DeLuca, C., Baker, E., Harju-Luukkainen, H., Heritage, M., Schneider, C., Stobart, G., & Wyatt-Smith, C. (2020). Synergy and tension between large-scale and classroom assessment: international trends. Educational Measurement: Issues and Practice, 39(4), 21-29. https://doi.org/10.1111/emip.12382
Volante, L., Lara, C., Klinger, D. A., & Siegel, M. (2020). The use of a multi-dimensional support model to examine policies and practices for immigrant students across Canada. Canadian Journal of Education, 43(1), 121-169. https://journals.sfu.ca/cje/index.php/cje-rce/article/view/3999
[R.W.B. Jackson Award for the most outstanding English-language journal article]
Non-Refereed Articles
Volante, L., DeLuca, C., & Klinger, D. A. (2023). Leveraging AI to enhance learning. Phi Delta Kappan, 105(1), 40–45. https://doi.org/10.1177/00317217231197475
Volante, L., DeLuca, C., & Klinger, D. A. (2023). Forward-thinking assessment in the era of Artificial Intelligence: strategies to facilitate deep learning. Education Canada. https://www.edcan.ca/articles/forward-thinking-assessment-in-the-era-of-artificial-intelligence/
Volante, L., & Klinger, D. A. (2023). COVID-19 and the learning loss dilemma: the danger of catching up only to fall behind. Education Canada, 63(2). https://www.edcan.ca/articles/covid-19-and-the-learning-loss-dilemma/
Volante, L., Klinger, D., & Siegel, M. (2021). Immigrant student resilience: Policy directions for a post-COVID world. Migration Policy Practice, 11(2), 39-43. https://publications.iom.int/books/migration-policy-practice-vol-xi-number-2-july-september-2021
Volante, L., Klinger, D., & Barrett, J. (2021). Academic resilience in a post-COVID world: A multi-level approach to capacity building. Education Canada, 61(3), 32-34. https://www.edcan.ca/articles/academic-resilience-in-a-post-covid-world/
Conversation Articles
Volante, L., & DeLuca, C., & Klinger, D. A. (2023, February). ChatGPT and cheating: 5 ways to change how students are graded. The Conversation Canada. https://theconversation.com/chatgpt-and-cheating-5-ways-to-change-how-students-are-graded-200248
Klinger, D. A., Klinger, C. R., & Volante, L. (2022, April 18). High school grades matter for post-secondary study, but is pandemic assessment fair? The Conversation Canada. https://theconversation.com/high-school-grades-matter-for-post-secondary-study-but-is-pandemic-assessment-fair-177187
Volante, L., Wyse, D., & Gutierrez, G. (2021, February 1). ‘School choice’ policies are associated with increased separation of students by social class. The Conversation Canada. https://theconversation.com/school-choice-policies-are-associated-with-increased-separation-of-students-by-social-class-149902
Volante, L., DeLuca, C., & Klinger, D. (2020, November 9). University admissions tests like the SAT are under scrutiny especially in the ageCOVID-19. The Conversation Canada. https://theconversation.com/university-admissions-tests-like-the-sat-are-under-scrutiny-especially-in-the-age-covid-19-142963
Principal Investigator – SSHRC Insight Grant – $230,237 (2023-2028)
The impact of the pandemic on social inequality and student learning outcomes: a pan-Canadian analysis with policy implications.
Collaborator: Don Klinger (Murdoch University)
- ADED 3F90: Work and Learning in Organizations (Undergraduate)
- EDBE 8P71: Student Assessment, Practice and Policy (Undergraduate)
- EDUC 5P21: Comparative and International Education (Graduate)
- EDUC 5P42: Innovative Practices in Curriculum/Assessment (Graduate)
- EDUC 5P62: Politics, Power, and Policy in Education (Graduate)
- EDUC 5P72: Effecting Change in Education (Graduate)
- EDUC 5P73: Challenges in Educational Leadership (Graduate)
