"An Abundance of Caution" is a devastating account of the decision-making process behind one of the worst American policy failures in a century--the extended closures of public schools during the pandemic. In fascinating and meticulously reported detail, David Zweig shows how some of the most trusted members of society--from Pulitzer…

Richard Allington reviews the nature of the reading achievement gap between students from low-income and high-income families, concluding that the limited access to children's books experienced by children from low-income families lies at the base of the problem. The fact that children from low-income families lose reading achievement every summer…

A lack of access to a sequence of introductory to top-level curricula in rural schools has widened the achievement disparity between rural and urban students and influenced the number of college degree holders in rural areas. Recently, surging diversity and differentiation in income levels across nonurbanized areas can serve as determinants of the…

This paper draws on research conducted in four state schools with sixth forms to problematise two flagship 'disadvantage' policy agendas in the English context: the Pupil Premium (focusing on the narrowing of attainment gaps) and widening participation (focusing on fairer university access). While such 'priority' policies necessarily incorporate…

In September 2022, the Institute for Fiscal Studies' Deaton Review drew attention to clear evidence that the UK compulsory education system is failing to tackle inequality. Their analysis demonstrated that attainment gaps between pupils who are eligible for Free School Meals (FSM) and those who are not exist across all stages of education.…

Graduating from high school is an important step toward becoming a successful adult. It is evidence that one has met the standards set by the public school system. Standards-Based Reform has been pursued since the 1980s and culminated in the development of the Common Core State Standards that were implemented by most states between 2011 and 2015.…

Learning Poverty (LP), the inability to read at age of 10 years has been the cynosure of concern and trigger for policy reform. Specifically, in India, the National Education Policy (NEP-2020) advocates several recommendations for epistemic justice and to thwart "learning poorness." This paper exposes that the proposals advocated by the…

This article explores some of the intersections and relationships between 'knowledge' and 'social justice' particularly as manifest in the context of English school music education. It takes as its starting point the tensions resulting from different understandings of these terms as revealed in the Society for Music Analysis's (SMA) report…

We estimated the effects of Norway's universal ECEC program - expanding access to 1- and 2-year-olds starting in the early 2000s - on standardized math and achievement tests in 5th grade (age 10) using a population-based survey sample (Norwegian Mother, Father, and Child Cohort Study, MoBa, n = 102,352), linked with national administrative records…

Within the social sciences, the term equity has a helpful and precise meaning -- referring to a differentiated response to an individual's distinct needs or circumstances. However, since the 2000s 'equity' has been recontextualised within national and international education policymaking as a generic term. This recontextualisation has led to…

The purpose of this study was to examine the dispositions of Sierra Leone's higher education stakeholders toward using a community college system as an alternative model for expanding postsecondary accessibility in Sierra Leone. The study was prompted by a high number of students failing to gain admissions into universities in Sierra Leone every…

The Scottish Attainment Challenge (SAC) was established to promote equity in education by ensuring every child has the same opportunity to succeed, with a focus on closing the poverty-related attainment gap. It is underpinned by the National Improvement Framework, Curriculum for Excellence and Getting it Right for Every Child. It focuses on…

The European Training Foundation (ETF) collects comprehensive evidence on trends and developments in employment, education, and training in its partner countries. Each year, these efforts culminate in the publication of a cross-country monitoring report, which provides key insights drawn from the data collected. This publication is the 2024…

The COVID-19 pandemic led to an unprecedented adoption of online learning in community colleges. On one hand, online learning increases access and offers students flexibility and convenience. On the other hand, existing research illustrates online courses increase achievement and equity gaps. Hence, this article contends that online learning in…

The problem addressed in this study was that many educational institutions have not fully integrated digital technology into online teaching strategies during the school shutdowns. Digital technology enables both synchronous and asynchronous communication between teachers and students, allowing access to learning materials and supporting…