Education can break the link between a child’s social background and their later outcomes, so improving social mobility. One of NFER’s primary objectives is to provide evidence on the factors affecting social mobility, educational outcomes, and later careers, to ensure that all young people have the opportunity to progress and succeed.
Our research portfolio on this topic covers a range of areas, including equality of access for vulnerable groups and evaluating initiatives designed to promote social mobility.
Our projects focus on a range of vulnerable groups, including children from disadvantaged backgrounds and those at risk of poor attendance and exclusion.
We have documented the effects of the rising cost of living on schools, including its impact on schools serving disadvantaged pupils. We have also mapped major initiatives designed to support young people in adversity and investigated racial equality in the teacher workforce.
NFER regularly conducts trials of education initiatives, many of which focus on creating evidence to improve outcomes for children from disadvantaged backgrounds.
In our international education and development work, the themes of equity and inclusion underline our approach. Our studies often focus on identifying and addressing systemic barriers to education, with particular emphasis on improving educational access and outcomes for vulnerable populations. For instance, we have conducted evaluations of FCDO’s Girls’ Education Challenge (GEC) programmes in Mozambique and Sierra Leone to understand their impact on learning opportunities for girls and most marginalised learners. To learn more about our international development work, please visit our webpage.