Policies for Reducing Educational Inequality in a Changing Europe

Education shapes our societies and lays the foundation for a secure and sustainable future. Schools can become a place to overcome social inequalities and build a more just world. However, despite years of reforms and efforts, educational inequality still persists, widening social and economic divisions and limiting opportunities for future generations. Educational inequality doesn’t just affect individual students—it threatens the stability of entire societies. On the other hand, inclusive education fosters understanding, critical thinking, and democracy, aligning with UNESCO’s educational goals and the United Nations’ Sustainable Development Goals (UN, 2015).
This paper explores how ensuring equal access to education can strengthen social cohesion and promote long-term stability for a more secure future. By comparing education systems (West & Nikolai 2013) in Nordic countries (Norway, Denmark, Sweden, and Finland) and Central and Eastern European countries (Poland, Czech Republic, Slovakia, Lithuania, Latvia, and Estonia), and the educational reforms implemented in them between 1999 and 2024, we aim to identify the key areas of change in the context of the challenges facing contemporary societies. Our goal is to understand which aspects of education have been crucial in fostering social cohesion and how these reforms respond to the evolving needs of modern societies.
Classical theories of educational inequality emphasize how education systems reproduce social hierarchies by privileging dominant cultural norms, aligning school practices with broader economic structures, and shaping outcomes through both institutional mechanisms and social background. Contemporary research builds on these insights, incorporating intersectional approaches that examine how class, ethnicity, and gender interact to structure educational opportunities (Reay, 2017). In this presentation, we address the interrelated concepts of inclusion and vulnerability as frameworks for analysing educational inequality.
The analysis is based on data collected within the STRIDE project (Strategies for Achieving Equity and Inclusion in Education, Training and Learning in Democratic Europe, Horizon), conducted 2024-2027, which investigates key areas of educational change in response to contemporary societal challenges. Using the Eurydice database, OECD Reform Finder, WikiYouth and some national sources we identified the key reforms and educational initiatives on all education levels in all European countries (+ Norway and England).
We have identified three challenges commonly addressed in educational reforms and will with this paper pose the question of how various European reforms and initiatives answer them: First, structural inequalities related to social origin, economic disparities, and urban–rural divides; second, the challenge of inclusive education, broadly understood to include cultural, ethnic, and identity diversity, as well as issues of neurodiversity and mental health; third, the need for curriculum design and evolving teaching methods that foster critical thinking and equip young people with competences essential for future societies.
Reay, D. (2017). Miseducation: Inequality, education and the working classes. Policy Press.
United Nations. (2015). Transforming our world: The 2030 agenda for sustainable development. United Nations. https://sdgs.un.org/2030agenda
West, A., & Nikolai, R. (2013). Welfare regimes and education regimes: Equality of opportunity and expenditure in the EU (and US). Journal of Social Policy, 42(3), 469–493.