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Educational Justice for All: A Roadmap Toward Progress

The Six Social Determinants of Learning

Equitable education for all has a far-reaching implication across nursing education and higher education. We must all fight for educational justice, and Chamberlain University will continue to lead the charge toward progress. 

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Physical Health, which includes a person's access to healthcare. Even in perfect circumstances, pursuing a degree is difficult. Universities need to understand their students' individual needs and put programs in place to support their physical health – from the application, through enrollment and degree completion. 

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Psychosocial Health, which includes resilience and self-belief. So much of attaining an education relies on emotional and psychological endurance. Institutions of higher learning need to believe in students, remove hurdles from the time of their application path and nurture them to believe that even in the face of doubt or difficulty, they can and will succeed. 

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An individual's Social Environment and Community also affect education. To what extent does the institution recognize structural barriers, such as transportation insecurity, and create policies and practices that mitigate inequities and strengthen access? 

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Economic Stability, which takes into account a person's job security, generational poverty and the need to work while in school. Institutions of higher education need to adjust their programs to suit the needs of working students and provide all students with a clear path to success. 

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Physical Environment and Community, which factors for things like homelessness, Internet and wifi access and workplace and neighborhood safety. If a student doesn't have a home, that impacts every aspect of the student experience: sleep, safety, food, money for books and technology. Universities need to make sure students have these basic needs taken care of to put them on a level playing field and provide an opportunity to succeed. 

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Self-Motivation has been linked to academic success. This includes motivation to learn, critical thinking skills, attention focus and lifestyle choices. In what ways do universities consider and nurture this attribute? 


The Social Determinants of Learning Framework

We developed our Social Determinants of Learning framework to help address these learning disparities and expand learning opportunities to support nursing student diversity, equity and inclusion. We’re committed to educational access and justice for all students and prospective students and believe that a holistic application process is an imperative when considering prospective students. 

The Social Determinants of Learning address the non-academic barriers to student success that ethnically diverse students may encounter. These are part of the culturally responsible framework that we use to evaluate our curriculum, assessment strategies, and environment. This same culturally responsive framework is used to ensure our curriculum, environment, and instruction are grounded in multicultural excellence as we strive to graduate health care practitioners who can identify and act on the social determinants of health.

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teacher guiding a nursing student in the classroom

The Social Determinants of Learning Framework, Explained

Learn more about our Social Determinants of Learning framework in this informational video.

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SDOL Primer

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Published Study

Chamberlain Press Release

Press Release

Social Determinants of Learning PPT IMG

PowerPoint