Education’s key role in addressing city’s social mobility challenge

In the latest edition of Marketing Derby’s Innovate Magazine we have a Q&A with Professor Kathryn Mitchell, the vice-chancellor of the University of Derby, who explains how learning can help address the city’s social mobility challenge.

The autumn edition of Innovate takes a closer look at the inequalities that exist in Derby, in terms of social mobility, health and education.

And in her Q&A, Professor Mitchell believes education plays a transformational role in increasing opportunity.

She told Innovate: “Education, in a way, is the gateway to drive social mobility but we have to look at the infrastructure of our city and the core elements.

“If you look at the research, the very early years are so critical to someone’s opportunities, and housing, health and access to employment for families are  important levers that, if education can unlock some of those, we would stand a better chance.

“Education is so important because if you don’t have those chances, the next platform by which we can improve people’s outcomes is through education, which can be transformative.

“However, it’s not as transformative if you don’t have some of those other ingredients enabling that platform for people to thrive in education.”

In the feature, Professor Mitchell is asked about her role leading the city’s Opportunity Area initiative, which provided support to improve life chances for young people locally.

When asked what more could be done, Professor Mitchell said: “I think we have strong partnership across the city, but it needs to be focussed to ensure that we are delivering interventions which meet the needs of our diverse communities.

“Diversity should lead to vibrancy of communities and, therefore, addressing how this is represented within the city and listened to within everything we do is imperative.”

As part of the same feature, Mandie Stravino chief executive of Derby College Group, shared her thoughts on the role education has to play in addressing the city’s social mobility challenge.

She said: “I have had the privilege of being the CEO of Derby College Group since 2012 and it is brilliant that DCG, since its formation in 2002, has helped develop hundreds of thousands of people to become more employable, entrepreneurial and socially mobile.

“Derby College Group and, in general, Further Education colleges can play a significant role in promoting social mobility.

“These institutions provide a wide range of vocational, technical and academic courses to students beyond the compulsory schooling age, typically from ages 16 to 18 and older.”

To read the full feature visit https://heyzine.com/flip-book/428478c2ea.html#page/27 .