What is the future of urban education?

The first thing we need to consider is the move towards increasing urbanization throughout the world. This means that as population is increasingly concentrated in large urban centers, educational funding and infrastructure need to follow or, ideally, anticipate population shifts. Another important demographic factor affecting the future of urban education is that urban centers are magnets for migrants and often have linguistically, economically, and culturally diverse populations to which educational policies must respond.

In many...

The first thing we need to consider is the move towards increasing urbanization throughout the world. This means that as population is increasingly concentrated in large urban centers, educational funding and infrastructure need to follow or, ideally, anticipate population shifts. Another important demographic factor affecting the future of urban education is that urban centers are magnets for migrants and often have linguistically, economically, and culturally diverse populations to which educational policies must respond.

In many urban centers, one sees the effects of economic inequality on education, with the wealthy either living in small enclaves of privilege or sending their children to private or religious schools, leaving public schools with a high proportion of economically disadvantaged students. Given that these students may come from unstable homes, have inadequate nutrition, have physical or mental health issues, and lack 24/7 access to technology, part of a successful strategy for urban education must be addressing the external factors that might impede a student's learning. Crime, gangs, and drugs can often be additional impediments to learning that need to be addressed.

An important future trend is adaptive learning that uses technology to create individualized curricula tailored to the specific needs of disadvantaged students. Another potential future solution is increased remote tutoring and advising that can provide individualized support that families living in poverty could not otherwise afford.