The policy relevance of recent longitudinal panel and cohort surveys of primary and secondary schools

• In Event: Analyzing educational inequalities in the past for a better future: successful interventions to reverse them

Abstract

1. Objectives or purposes
This paper aims to valorise the often-overlooked body of prospective educational studies and analytical reports published in languages other than English—including Dutch, French, Spanish, and Catalan—by examining their contributions to understanding and addressing educational inequalities. In doing so, it contributes to countering language-based evidence bias in international academic discourse. The paper also presents the conceptual and methodological approach of the REVERS-ED project's ongoing cohort studies, which seek to identify trends in educational inequalities over time.
2. Perspective(s) or theoretical framework
Cohort surveys coupled with education policy analysis are a promising basis for monitoring and demonstrating how education actions compensate for inequalities among learners. However, prospective studies are, as a rule, attuned to country, region or community specific contexts, often commissioned by national/regional research funding agencies and are predominantly fit for purpose of validating education policy choices. As a result, comprehensive analytical reports tailored for education contexts of specific jurisdictions in Europe are often available only in a national, regional or community language. Such reports, written by researchers, are often not translated into lingua franca of academia i.e. English. Search machines and software used in academia for literature reviews consider predominantly evidence that is available in English language outlets. The language bias often results in evidence bias (Politzer-Ahles et al., 2020).
3. Methods, techniques, or modes of inquiry
Cohort studies of the REVERS-ED project are ongoing, so more details will be provided at the conference if the session gets accepted, given that the analysis of the cohorts is set to finish in April 2026.
The paper will analyse large-scale educational datasets to compare three student cohorts, born five years apart, and covering primary and secondary education. Statistical modelling techniques will be employed to identify patterns in educational inequalities and their evolution.
4. Data sources, evidence, objects, or materials
Data will be drawn from official national and regional educational datasets which are public and/or made available to the REVERS-ED project partners. These include longitudinal information on student outcomes, demographic characteristics, and school-level variables, covering cohorts born in 1999, 2004, and 2009.
5. Results and/or substantiated conclusions or warrants for arguments/point of view
Findings of the cohort studies and policy conclusions will be presented if the session gets accepted. Our informed hypothesis is that lessons learnt from prospective education studies in several European countries may be relevant beyond national or regional borders even when analytical data are not strictly comparable. The integration of different materials aims to broaden the evidence base on educational inequalities and to highlight valuable policy lessons that may otherwise be overlooked in global research agendas.
6. Scientific or scholarly significance of the study or work
Issues addressed, conclusions and overall lessons learnt may tell us more about effective ways to compensate for education inequalities associated with system level, school level, family level, and individual level disadvantages, than international longitudinal trend studies.

Author

• Dragana Avramov, Population and Social Policy Consultants