Project activities are divided in two complementary strands of work:
1) comprehensive desk research
aiming at collecting, accessing, analysing and summarizing existing data that allow assessing inequalities in education over time in 32 countries, and with a particular focus on Southern and Western Europe. Part of the activities are dedicated to understand to what extent different databases can be made directly comparable and deliver a feasibility study that brings innovation to the research community interested in comparative longitudinal analysis.
2) A qualitative research
in the countries of the project complements the mapping with the objective to gather primary data on the implementation process and impact of possible compensatory interventions. In line with the findings of recent longitudinal studies, the focus is on better understanding what schools can do to keep their students engaged, meet their characteristics and needs, and reduce inequalities in the short, medium and long run.
While the desk research will allow to map and analyse existing longitudinal data, the qualitative one will leverage longitudinal data to zoom on schools with similar characteristics but different performance in terms of students’ learning outcomes. The results of both strands will shed light on the role of longitudinal data and compensatory interventions to tackle inequalities at school level.
