Livianna Tossutti, Associate Professor of Political Science and Louis Volante, Professor of Education at Brock University, along with Don Klinger, Pro Vice-Chancellor of Te Kura Toi Tangata Division of Education; Professor of Measurement, Assessment and Evaluation 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, United Nations University, had a piece recently published in The Conversation about factors outside school systems that affect schools’ capacity to meet students’ needs and support academic achievement.

They write:

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.”

Read the full article here.