STRIDE will improve our understanding of the long-standing educational inequalities by drawing on three inter-disciplinary concepts: equity, inclusiveness, and intersectionality. By focusing on these concepts, STRIDE will improve our understanding of the structures and agents affecting educational inequalities in terms of learning achievements over time and from a lifelong learning perspective.
The project will combine diverse methods, data and disciplines in innovative ways. We will map at national and regional levels:
- education reforms in the past 25 years
- longitudinal trends of inequalities in educational achievement
- effect of education reforms and interventions.
Policy analysis, mapping and meta-analysis of longitudinal studies in Europe
We will conduct a comparative and historical policy analysis at European and national levels in the past two decades (2000-2024). This analysis will cover 27 European member states, Norway, and the United Kingdom. Through this we will create a comprehensive database that combines educational reforms across Europe aiming to foster equity, equality and inclusion and a repository of existing longitudinal studies that have followed individual students throughout their educational career.
Mapping longitudinal trends of inequalities in educational achievement in Europe
We aim to uncover the trends of inequalities in educational achievement of students longitudinally in 27 EU member states, Norway, and the United Kingdom. We will conduct re-analysis on large-scale educational assessment studies and will apply multilevel modelling which accounts for the hierarchical structure of data (e.g., individuals grouped into households, school classes, countries).
A map of significant factors in policies and inequalities in education in Europe
We will build an interactive map to visualise the results as a longitudinal database created through the policy analysis. The map structure will be developed in consultation with national and European stakeholders to make sure that the map will include data and features of the public needs. Data visualisation is the process of representing data in a graphical and expressive manner to facilitate understanding, allowing the wider audience to look for or discover what is implied from large amounts of data in a well-organised and successful way.
Identify the effective policy initiatives and interventions on reducing inequalities in education
We will conduct evaluation research on the effect of previous and recent policy initiatives aiming to reduce inequalities in education in five countries (Denmark, Hungary, Norway, Poland, and the United Kingdom). Case studies apply methods belonging to the field of education policy evaluation including re-analysis of existing population-based longitudinal data following individual students, combined with qualitative enquiry into policymaking process at system level.
Qualitative enquiry into cross-sectoral policymaking process
STRIDE research believes that effective solutions for most societal problems must be found through different agencies and actors, as well as through coordination set out in different policy areas. Like most problems in the real world, inequalities in education relate to many different issues and do not respect the borders of legally defined policy domains. The qualitative enquiry will take into account the combined outcomes and results from economic, social, and environmental policies and laws that influence inequalities in education outcomes. The focus is on the sectors and actors involved, the instruments and procedures that influence their behaviour, and on the causal relationship between education and other policy domains in both directions.
Building the toolbox for effective policy initiatives
We will develop an inventory by building on the research results and knowledge developed in earlier stages. The inventory will be developed with the aim that the knowledge base and different tools can be utilized by a multivarious stakeholder group consisting of policy makers (for example: local school authorities, and leaders of kindergartens and schools). We will carry out four workshops for co-creating the policy toolbox, working closely with stakeholders.
