Inequality in European education systems is considerable. These researchers are looking for ways to counteract it

The project strives to promote educational equality in Europe by providing research-informed policy recommendations. It will identify pioneering policies and practices to enhance more inclusive conditions in the educational systems.

- In Norway, we’re used to thinking of ourselves as an egalitarian society where everyone is supposed to have the same opportunities in life, says Solvejg Jobst.

Internationally, too, the Scandinavian model with its integrative 10-year school structure and censorship-free learning in primary schools is seen as a system that goes far to ensure an inclusive and just education and society.

- However, we must also be constantly vigilant and ensure that processes of social and educational inequality do not solidify but are further reduced. Perhaps in this country it is even more difficult to fight against processes of educational inequality since these are less expected, and therefore less obvious than elsewhere, says Solvejg Jobst.

Jobst has been conducting research in the field of education and inequality for many years. Now, she leads a work package in the PIONEERED research project, financed by the EU’s Horizon 2020 programme, which has allocated EUR 3.5 million. The project will look at “pioneering” practices in education systems and education policy which counteract the reproduction of social inequality. The goal is to promote conditions in Europe that allow children and young people to participate equally in their education at all levels of the educational system.

Unequal living conditions

- Children and young people come from different homes and residential areas and attend schools that have different learning and operating environments. This means that they are in different socio-economic or cultural life contexts, thus it isn’t as easy for everyone to perform at the same level at school, says Jan Skrobanek, sociologist at UiB and participant in the project.

An important question for researchers is how the adults in these children’s environments compensate for such inequalities. How do schoolteachers, football coaches, performing arts teachers and people in the municipality, who pursue educational policy, think? What ideas and concepts do they have for making learning more accessible to all children and young people?

- We want to find answers to these questions by talking to people and observing how they perform their roles as corporate actors in education, in the classroom or on the football ground. In this way, we hope to find innovative ideas and actions that help to reduce educational inequality, and thus help children and young people who have less opportunities to participate in various educational environments, says Skrobanek.

Intersecting axes of inequality

The research project aims at exploring and analyzing the problem of educational inequality at many different levels - from politics and institutions to individual practices of stakeholders like teacher union experts, educational practitioners, teacher educators, community-led neighborhood groups or parents. The researchers are particularly aware of children and young people who have several so-called intersecting axes of inequality - for example, a variety of preconditions related to their socio-economic and cultural background that intersect with other challenges in their neighborhood or school environment.

- We must raise awareness about the fact that the individual student’s talents or efforts are never the sole reason for differences or inequalities in learning and education. Quite on the contrary: the socio-economic, cultural and environmental aspects of one’s upbringing play an enormous role here, says Skrobanek.

Education is one of the most important indicators of one’s life opportunities – having a higher education ensures access to further education, apprenticeship or the job market, makes it easier to participate in politics and is closely linked to general well-being, health and life skills.

Education is not just about adapting

- Education is more than just outcomes and certificates. Education (in the sense of Bildung or danning) is a holistic process that shapes us as human beings – that is, the way in which we relate to the world and to ourselves, says Jobst.

Furthermore, education also gives you the strength to transform both the world and yourself, says the scientist. A good education should give you the resources to live your life well, tackling crises and uncertainties, making your own mark on the world around you and at the same time recognizing and developing your own value. Thus, education is not just about adapting to the world´s expectations of you. Much more, it is about developing resilience and finding your own path.

- Thus, the decision to drop out of school may also be a form of coping well. On a surface level, it may look like you’ve failed, but if the decision is the right one for you, it is actually a sign of strength and agency, says Jobst.

Therefore, the issue of inequality is complex. There is no easy way to measure or understand it, and so an exploratory method is needed whereby researchers will involve many people in the discussion of this topic.

Learning from international comparison

The project combines various scientific methods and approaches to research the topic of educational inequality in a thorough and internationally comparative way. A practical aim is to advise the European government as well as national, regional, and local politicians and organisations. The researchers will also inform actors in educational practice field about pioneering practices for promoting inclusive education in various European countries. Through international comparison, the partners involved in PIONEERED can learn from each other which measures are best suited to promote life skills and combat different forms of educational inequality.

Thirteen partners from nine European countries make up the consortium. As a part of this work, HVL and UiB will host an international workshop in which the project partners will discuss and analyse the considerable variations and common trends in pioneering practices between the participating countries.

- I’m very happy that UiB and HVL, with our different approaches to this field, can come together on this. Together, we can contribute with both sociological and pedagogical perspectives, and this combination is very valuable, says Skrobanek.

The PIONEERED project has received funding from the European Union’s Horizon 2020    research and innovation programme under grant agreement No 101004392.