The European Union Framework Programme (EUFP) is the most institutionalised form of supranational thematic programming in the world and the centrepiece of European Union research policy. Since 1994, the EUFP has also funded collaborative research projects in the social sciences. Surprisingly, little attention has been paid to its genesis,…

Purpose: A systematic literature review has neglected for years in both national and international vocational educational and training (VET) policy research. Recently, scholarly interest in and the need for such a review has increased rapidly. This review introduces the application of the systematic literature review method, with a focus on…

The European Education Area aims to support Member States' efforts in enhancing the educational attainment of younger generations. In this policy context, there is a need for an objective tool to assess the educational outcomes of EU countries. The present report addresses this need by pursuing two objectives: (1) providing a comprehensive method…

Ample research has shown the importance of collaboration between practitioners, researchers, and policy makers to ensure holistic, inclusive, and effective policy making, particularly in the field of refugee education. Many countries, however, still face challenges in engaging with stakeholders during all the stages of the practice-research-policy…

This open access book explores different landscapes of Lifelong Learning policies (LLP), producing case-based examinations of their institutional, discursive, and relational dimensions. Across Europe, young people develop their life courses amidst diverse living conditions and are confronted with a variety of institutional and structural…

The COVID-19 pandemic disrupted the learning process of more than 1.5 billion students and youth around the world. The abrupt and unplanned shift to online schooling had a negative impact on student learning and achievement, with the greatest challenges experienced by the most vulnerable learners. Scientific evidence from across the globe is…

Ethics and ethical behaviour are the fundamental pillars of a civilised society. The focus on ethical behaviour is indispensable in certain fields such as medicine, finance, or law. In fact, ethics gets precedence with anything that would include, affect, transform, or influence upon individuals, communities or any living creatures. Many…

Small rural schools in many countries have historically been viewed as less desirable than their larger urban counterparts, being treated less favourably in the policy arena and facing a risk of closure or amalgamation. Within Europe, they have been the focus of a range of research studies and have been defined in different ways, based mostly on…

This edited volume explores how Stephen Ball's work has shaped the field of the sociology of education worldwide. Written by internationally based researchers who are Ball's former PhD students, it draws on different strands of his work to show what it means to think, write, and do research inspired by Ball's theory, methodology, and epistemology.…

This exploratory paper presents insights from a qualitative interview-based study of the academic identity-building among a group of early career researchers working in the field of education across the European higher education space. Set against a policy background framed by the initiatives in European higher education and research policy,…

Despite significant advances in STEM education and a growing emphasis on gender equality in research and policy circles, women across Europe remain under-represented in STEM careers and among graduates majoring in STEM related fields. This report aims to consolidate current research findings, policy analyses and best practices in relation to…

The starting point for this inductive study is to determine, through a search of studies, what critical viewpoints in terms of research are delivered, based on experiences, observations and evaluation, concerning the Bologna Process over time? The aim is to present a description using a thematic analysis based on data from 38 papers (2004-2016)…

Reflects on cross-national differences in contemporary research, policy, implementation, and teaching practice in civic education across a wide range of countries in Europe, Latin America, North America and Asia Provides interdisciplinary perspectives on advances as well as enduring and emerging challenges for civic education in educational…

While comprehensive research has been conducted on the Bologna Process (BP) as well as on the European Higher Education Area (EHEA), the roles of the social sciences in these reforms have remained mostly overlooked. Based on a systematic literature review of articles and reports from 1999 to 2018, we analyse the interplay of social sciences with…

Since the 1990s, European school policy has been steered by management dreams that systematic monitoring and assessment would guide schools and society toward a future of greater quality, efficiency, and growth. This article, drawing on Jean Baudrillard, explores whether it makes sense to rearticulate this dream of optimization by assessment in…