TRANSFER – Evaluation and Research-Policy-Practice Transfer to Promote Equity and Inclusion

Project Description

Although a substantial body of empirical research has examined the causes of social inequality in education and how to address them, educational inequalities appear to be persistent across Europe. This is the starting point of the project. Through an international consortium, TRANSFER brings together research teams from eight countries (Finland, Germany, Hungary, Ireland, Lithuania, Norway, Spain, and Switzerland) within the framework of EU Horizon funding and investigates how educational inequalities can be reduced across different European educational contexts. The project follows a mixed-method evaluation strategy and develops and tests new approaches to strengthen the research-policy-practice transfer in education to promote equity and inclusion: Findings will be co-created with stakeholders to ensure relevance, usability, and sustainability.

Within this transfer framework, the DIPF leads a work package on the methods and success factors of evidence-informed policy advice in education. During the first phase of the project, a systematic overview of the international state of research on methodological approaches to evidence-informed policy advice, as well as institutions and practices of policy advice in education, will be conducted. Existing approaches will then be compared within the European context.

In a next step, national measures and policies aimed at reducing educational inequalities will be evaluated from four perspectives using qualitative interview studies and quantitative data: (1) practitioners, (2) researchers, (3) policymakers, and (4) the policy beneficiaries. The empirical findings will be brought together and discussed in an overarching synthesis.

Project Objectives

At the beginning of the project, a systematic overview of evidence-informed policy advice in education will be developed for the European context. Accordingly, the project investigates, through participatory approaches involving various stakeholder groups at the national level and embedded in an international comparison, how educational inequalities can be reduced. In doing so, the project will provide actionable insights for policymakers, practitioners, beneficiaries such as learners and their parents, and the wider public. Based on new evidence, TRANSFER aims to contribute to more inclusive, equitable, and future-oriented educational processes across Europe.

Funding

Funded by the European Union, EU Framework Programme: Horizon Europe

Cooperations

TRANSFER is a consortium of 13 partners from eight European countries, coordinated by the University of Fribourg. The DIPF cooperates closely with the Institute for Innovation and Technology (iit).

Project Management

Project Team

• Dr. Anna Bachsleitner
• Dr. Marko Neumann

Project Details