Where Research Goes Next: A Research Agenda
Resources → Where Research Goes Next: A Research Agenda
There is so much still to be learned about integration and resource equity in schools. This list of questions was created with education equity leaders including litigators, advocates, policymakers, and academic researchers.
Much existing research on school segregation and integration is based on reforms from the 1960s and ‘70s, when integration efforts were evaluated in comparison to de jure (imposed by law) segregation, and when the resource inequities between schools serving students of color and schools serving white students were much starker than they are today.
It is important to update the work to fit today’s context, to understand how today’s patterns of school segregation impact inequities in the quality of education offered to students.
If we are truly committed to advancing new policies and legal remedies that produce integrated, well-resourced schools while avoiding mistakes of the past, we must understand not just whether integration and funding reform matter, but also how, and why. We need to investigate what works to create schools that are welcoming, supportive, and safe for all students in integrated and integrating districts. We must go far beyond counting bodies and measuring diversity; we must choose to center the experience of students and educators in our new efforts.
Answering the questions in this research agenda will set the stage for transformative improvements in public education.
