About one in six children in Australia live in poverty. These children generally have poorer educational outcomes than more advantaged children. Recently published research shows students who live in poverty also experience more social exclusion at school than their more advantaged peers. These findings suggests disadvantage at home carries over into disadvantage at school.
Interventions such as anti-bullying programs and increased funding for schools in disadvantaged communities can help. However, analysis suggests there’s a bigger structural problem. To reduce educational disadvantage, action is needed to reduce child poverty, which has remained stubbornly high since the early 2000s.