On Monday, January 13, 2014, RSF Visiting Scholars Jane Waldfogel (Columbia University) and Miles Corak (University of Ottawa) will lead a working session at the Social Mobility Summit hosted by the Brookings Institution’s Center on Children and Families. With Bruce Bradbury (University of New South Wales) and Elizabeth Washbrook (University of Bristol), Waldfogel and Corak are currently part of an RSF working group investigating educational inequality in four countries.

Monday’s Social Mobility Summit will open with a public keynote address from Senator Kirsten Gillibrand in the morning and close with a public keynote address from Congressman Paul Ryan. Senator Gillibrand and Representative Ryan will each lay out their personal vision for how we can promote social mobility in the U.S. today. During the day, the Center on Children and Families will hold a series of private working sessions with leading scholars. Each session will address a critical life stage for the promotion of social mobility: family formation, the early years, K-12 education, college education, and transitions into work. Click here to register to attend this event, or sign up to join the live webcast.

During their time in residence at the Russell Sage Foundation, Waldfogel, Corak, Bradbury and Washbrook are analyzing differences in school achievement among children of different socioeconomic status in Australia, Canada, the United Kingdom, and the United States. The working group will also examine whether achievement gaps between rich and poor children are related to differences between countries in public policies, private resources, and educational institutions. Click here to read more about their project.