Objective: This research was conducted with the aim of identifying and explaining the harms caused by educational poverty and its consequences on educational equity and development.
Method: Applied, based on a qualitative approach, and conducted using the thematic analysis method. The participant community included education managers and specialists in educational sciences, who were selected through purposive sampling based on the principle of theoretical saturation. Thus, 13 individuals participated in the data collection process. Data were collected through semi-structured interviews and analyzed using the thematic analysis pattern at three levels: basic, organizing, and overarching themes. To enhance the validity and reliability of the results, strategies such as participant review, peer assessment, and the use of external observers were employed.
Results: The research findings led to the identification of 50 basic themes and 25 organizing themes, which were categorized into five overarching themes: “Infrastructural and Environmental Inequalities,” “Educational Deprivation,” “Inequality in Learning Quality and Lack of Skills,” “Weak Human and Managerial Capital,” and “Psychological and Social Problems.” Furthermore, factors influencing the formation and continuation of educational poverty were identified across four dimensions: economic, social, managerial, and structural. Subsequently, a set of strategies for reducing educational poverty was presented in four general categories: “Data-Driven Management and Optimal Resource Allocation,” “Strategic Human Resource Empowerment,” “Targeted Compensatory-Social Interventions,” and “Strengthening Family and Community Participation.”