Our partners from Hungary, TÁRKI Social Research Institute, hosted the first National Stakeholder Group (NSG) meeting on 26 June, in a hybrid format at their Budapest office. The event brought together perspectives from researchers, civil society representatives, and education policy experts — all committed to tackling educational inequalities.
The hybrid format allowed different types of stakeholders to attend either in person or via Zoom, representing:
- Research centres and academic institutions
- Experts in policy and statistical analysis with experience in education research
- Civil society organisations delivering educational programmes to children living in poverty
István György Tóth, TÁRKI’s Director, opened the meeting, followed by Márton Medgyesi, Senior Researcher, who discussed STRIDE’s objectives and future plans. After them, Borbála Lőrincz presented the stakeholders with the results of Work Package 2, where TÁRKI played a key role in reviewing 25 years of education policy reforms in several European countries.
Her analysis was focused on:
- Academic literature
- Original policy documents
- OECD Education Policy Reforms Finder
From these findings, several conclusions can be drawn. First, systematic evaluations of reforms are relatively rare. Second, there is often no coherent vision or continuity between reforms, even when numerous initiatives have been implemented. Finally, and linked to the lack of a shared framework across countries, definitions of what constitutes a “vulnerable student” differ widely.
Stakeholders also offered valuable insights and suggestions. The most notable included the need to address the challenge of differing definitions of vulnerable groups, the development of a comparative table or glossary capturing the characteristics of the reviewed policies, and ensuring that the findings are transformed into clear and practical policy briefs.
