Levelling up: Tackling education inequalities
While European education serves as a benchmark for other regions of the world, there is still a lot to do in terms of reducing the inequality gap. That is one of the main goals of the Horizon 2020 framework programme 'Europe in a changing world'. The goal pertains especially to vulnerable groups and their access to education. In that context, the EU-funded PIONEERED project hosted by the University of Luxembourg set out to identify and implement innovative policies and practices aimed at tackling these inequalities. Not only did the team behind it go to mapping the sources of educational inequalities and analysing national policies, they also sought to study design and application of some of these pioneering strategies across EU Member States.
Structural disadvantages persist
The research design was built on four pillars: developing an innovative methodological framework and mapping the state-of-research, conducting policy analysis, analysing data to identify intersectional inequalities, and researching practices in schools and informal education centres. The project concluded successfully in February 2024. While reaffirming its hypothesis that educational inequalities are still visible in the European education systems, there is still plenty to do. PIONEERED project coordinator Andreas Hadjar mentioned that the most vulnerable groups in the education systems suffering from the strongest disadvantages are students originating from low socio-economic status and migrant families. “Gender and disability are further structural categories relating to educational disadvantages among others,” points out Hadjar, professor in Sociology of Education at the University of Luxembourg. To fulfil the objectives of the project, the team employed an innovative mixed-methods framework with the help of an international group of researchers from different disciplinary and methodological backgrounds. However, this was challenging for all researchers involved due to the novelty of the approach. Employing a multi-level, intersectional life-course perspective proved to be beneficial. “Mapping inequalities in different countries at different educational stages and regarding different outcome variables required extensive data harmonisation. To gain a comprehensive picture on how to tackle inequalities, PIONEERED involved stakeholders, policymakers and practitioners at many stages of the project,” comments Hadjar.
Tour guides of inequality
An interesting decision was to use an unusual method: guided tours. What does that mean in this context? First, the team discussed with stakeholders their selection of pioneering institutions. The next step involved conducting interviews with the representatives of these institutions, then allowing staff at these institutions to explain their strategies. At this stage, focus groups were also engaged. Then the team discussed the outcomes with the stakeholders. Successful strategies include 'bridging', for example between schools considered as formal settings, daycare as non-formal and family or community which were regarded as informal settings; high-quality teacher education; and more inclusive schooling systems. Hadjar remarks, “As many promising practices have a pilot character and are not universally introduced, their impact is rather low and needs to be increased. Furthermore, evaluation studies are still rare and do not cover many of these policies and practices to tackle inequalities.” Now the team plans several next steps. Results will be presented and discussed with national politicians, teacher unions and other stakeholders. Collaboration with other EU-funded initiatives such as the Coordination and Support Action Inclusion4Schools is already under way. A conference involving PIONEERED partners and other scholars interested in educational inequalities is planned for 2026 or 2027. Future initiatives include new projects, teacher training, and continued collaboration between researchers and stakeholders. As the team continues to disseminate results and plan future initiatives, PIONEERED's legacy will contribute to more inclusive and equitable education systems across Europe.
Keywords
PIONEERED, vulnerable groups, inequality, inclusive schooling, structural disadvantages, inclusive education
