Learning Across Boundaries: Connecting Education Policy and Social Policy Research to Advance Equity

Abstract

Despite increased recognition that schools do not exist in isolation from the larger social context, policy strategies and research in education and related social sectors tend to be isolated from one another. In this chapter, the authors map some of the linkages between research on education policy and research on other forms of social policy, including housing, criminal and youth justice, health, and labor. They discuss key theoretical frameworks that are important to understanding cross-sector connections and alignment, and describe research at the intersection of each of these areas, noting future directions for education policy research. Many of the long-standing and entrenched challenges in the field of education are deeply aligned with the issues in our larger social contexts. Therefore, it is of critical importance that policymakers and policy researchers learn from parallel trends and solutions and work toward increased alignment for greater impact on the inequities in these systems.

Keywords: cross-sector; social policy; interdisciplinary; segregation; housing; homelessness; health; teacher workforce; policing