Well-Being and Equity: A Multi-Disciplinary Framework for Rethinking Education Policy

ABSTRACT

We are living in an era in which equity in education is framed and measured through individual academic achievement. Schools are viewed as economic engines for a better life . By virtue of providing adequate preparation for entering the economy and gaining a well-paying job, they are construed as capable of closing the opportunity gap. This misguided and ahistorical notion of equity fails to account for the nested nature of students, families, communities, and cities, and it disregards centuries of policy decisions that have shaped unequal conditions in communities and schools. While neoclassical economic theory has only more recently come to influence education, it has long driven national and international economic development. We know from research in the fields of human, community, and sustainable development that this economic approach does not attend to the spectrum of noneconomic needs that being met allow for individuals and communities to thrive. Nor does this approach address the roots of structural inequality. This paper draws from those fields to present a conceptual framework that can guide policymakers, researchers, and especially school, district, and state leaders to (re)consider the ways policy decisions challenge inequity. It does so by asking these stakeholders to center humanity through prioritizing intergenerational individual and community well-being. Further, the framework highlights the capacity of schools to serve as the driver of community uplift. Finally, this paper suggests that policy actors and practitioners participate in cross-sector collaboration to design policies that allow individuals, communities, and schools to flourish.

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No potential conflict of interest was reported by the author(s).

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Emily Germain

Emily Germain is a Postdoctoral Research Fellow at the Learning Policy Institute. Her time as a teacher shaped her commitment to influencing policy and practice in service of greater equity in education. She studies the implications of urban education reforms for historically marginalized communities, the relationship between schools and communities, and how policy and politics shape both the labor markets and practice of education leaders and teachers.