# Abstract

**Objective:** Supportive and remedial policies are designed and implemented to reduce educational inequalities, compensate for learning disadvantages, and provide more equitable educational opportunities for different groups of students. However, the effectiveness of these policies depends not only on their formulation and adoption but also on the quality of their implementation, their alignment with students’ actual needs, the allocation of resources, and the extent to which structural and family-related barriers are addressed. When these factors are overlooked, supportive policies may fail to achieve their intended objectives or may even reproduce existing disparities in access to educational opportunities. Accordingly, this study aimed to identify the barriers and challenges to implementing supportive and remedial policies in the formal and general education system of Qazvin Province, Iran; explain the structural and operational barriers within the education system and the family-related and student-related barriers to benefiting from educational support; and identify strategies for improving these policies and the expected outcomes of their effective implementation.

**Materials and Methods:** This study employed a qualitative approach using conventional content analysis. Data were collected through semi-structured interviews with 18 experts, school administrators, educational supervisors, and teachers in Qazvin Province, as well as a review of documents and regulations related to supportive and remedial policies. Participants were selected through purposive criterion-based sampling to ensure the inclusion of individuals with relevant knowledge and experience. Data collection continued until data saturation was reached. Interview and documentary data were analyzed to identify concepts related to implementation barriers, the conditions affecting access to educational support, improvement strategies, and expected outcomes. The identified concepts were subsequently organized into related categories.

**Findings:** Data analysis yielded 121 initial concepts, 27 subcategories, eight main categories, and four overarching components: structural and operational barriers within the education system; family-related and student-related barriers to benefiting from educational support; strategies for improving supportive and remedial policies; and the expected outcomes of their effective implementation. Within the first component, inadequate financial resources, imbalances in resource and facility allocation, misalignment between supportive policies and students’ actual needs, and weaknesses in implementation, monitoring, and evaluation emerged as major challenges. The second component highlighted families’ economic and cultural constraints, difficulties in participating in educational processes, and limitations in the participatory role of parent–teacher associations. The findings indicated that access to educational support depends not only on the availability of support programs but also on family circumstances and the capacity to benefit effectively from the opportunities provided. The strategies identified included needs-based provision and distribution of educational resources and facilities, equitable and accountable allocation of financial resources, improved alignment between support measures and students’ needs, stronger school–family relationships, and enhanced monitoring and evaluation mechanisms. Improving learning opportunities, reducing inequalities in access to educational resources, strengthening family participation, and increasing the effectiveness of support programs were identified as major expected outcomes of effective policy implementation.

**Discussion and Conclusion:** The findings indicate that the mere existence of supportive and remedial policies is insufficient to achieve educational justice. Their effectiveness depends on aligning support measures with students’ actual needs, ensuring equitable resource allocation, addressing family-related constraints, and continuously monitoring implementation. Accordingly, improving supportive policies requires a multidimensional approach that considers structural and operational barriers within the education system alongside family-related and student-related circumstances. Moreover, supporting families should not be limited to increasing their responsibilities; rather, the economic and social constraints that affect their participation and ability to benefit from educational support must also be considered in policy design. Prioritizing disadvantaged regions and groups, allocating resources according to actual needs, and establishing systematic evaluation mechanisms can help improve learning opportunities and enhance the effectiveness of supportive and remedial policies. Overall, achieving the objectives of these policies requires an integrated approach that combines targeted support, equitable resource allocation, and accountability in implementation.